It’s October, and that means Halloween is right around the corner! Have you thought about your Halloween costume just yet? Every year, I pick one of my role models to dress up as, whether they’re an astronaut or a character from Star Trek. After all, that’s the great thing about role models, they’re there on more than just Halloween; they motivate you 365 days of the year!
As I wrote in Chapter 8 of my book, Dream Big!: How to Reach for Your Stars, “Having a role model who talks about or shows that the path to success is often unpredictable, and includes mistakes and failures, can make all the difference in a girl or woman’s ability to believe in herself and her path to success.” Your role model is someone you admire, so what better way to follow in their footsteps than with a fun Halloween costume? You’re sure to be the star of your neighborhood when you go trick-or-treating! Keep reading for seven fun space and science costume ideas and learn how to make them yourself today!
Image credit: NASA
1. Halloween Costume Idea: Artemis Generation Astronaut
The Artemis Generation is leading the new era of space travel! This NASA astronaut group will be heading back to the Moon, where the first woman and next man will step foot on the Moon, and eventually, onto Mars. To mark this new era, Artemis astronauts wear bright blue flight suits decorated with meaningful patches. With a flight suit of your own, you too can join their history-making team!
What You Need
To become an Artemis Generation astronaut, you’ll need…
- Blue jumpsuit
- Patches
- Black shoes
- Iron or sewing kit
With your choice of patches, you can make this flight suit your own! You could add a flag, a space industry logo, or even your favorite mission – it’s entirely up to you!
How to Make It
This costume only has one step: iron or sew your patches onto your jumpsuit! If needed, make sure you have parental supervision for this step. If you don’t have iron-on or sew-on patches, you could also draw or paint them on. Scatter your patches all over your suit and fill it with all the things you love!
Once you’ve finished your flight suit, put it on, lace up your black shoes, and you’re ready for an out-of-this-world Halloween!
Image credit: Star Wars
2. Halloween Costume Idea: Princess Leia from Star Wars
I have always been a huge Star Wars fan! Growing up, I idolized Princess Leia. She’s confident, intelligent, and independent; it’s no surprise that she’s one of the most iconic female movie heroines. By dressing up as Leia for Halloween, you can jump to the Star Wars universe and channel her bravery and intellect. Plus, you’re sure to have a costume everyone will recognize! And guess what? I was Princess Leia for Halloween when I was 12 years old! I even went so far as to have my mom dye my hair brown!
What You Need
Transform into Princess Leia with…
- Long, white dress (best with long sleeves and a turtle neck)
- White shoes
- Hair ties (at least four!)
- White or silver belt
How to Make It
The first step is creating Princess Leia’s outfit! Put on the dress and fasten the belt around your waist. If you’re layering with a long-sleeve or turtleneck shirt, make sure to put that on first, and then slip the dress on over it. If you’re feeling extra crafty, you can make the dress and belt from scratch by following these instructions!
The next step is to tie your hair up into Leia’s iconic buns. Princess Leia always wears her hair in two large buns that hide her ears. To recreate this look, first part your hair down the middle into two sections. Secure each section with a hair tie as close to the back of your ear as you can get (so you have two pigtails coming out of either side of your head!). Next, twist the ponytail and then wrap it in a spiral around the hair tie. When there’s no hair left to cover, secure the bun with another hair tie. Add more hair ties and bobby pins wherever needed to keep the bun in place!
Now, you’re ready for an adventurous Halloween as Princess Leia! Your mission: collect the most candy!
3. Halloween Costume Idea: Scientist
Scientists change the world with their research – literally! From collecting essential data to developing technologies, scientists pave the way for a brighter future. This Halloween, join their laboratory and become a scientist yourself. Physicists, biologists, astronomers – there are so many types of scientists you can be. Maybe you’ll even learn how to brew some spooky potions, too!
What You Need
Every scientist requires safety gear! Make sure you have …
- Lab coat
- Safety goggles
- Hair ties (if your hair is long)
- Gloves
- Bonus: Beaker or telescope
How to Make It
All you have to do for this costume is put together the pieces; no craft skills are required! Simply put on your lab coat over your regular clothes. Safety is critical in a laboratory, so make sure you have your safety goggles and gloves and tie back your hair if it’s long!
If you want to get creative, decorate your lab coat; nobody says your coat has to be plain white! Decorate it with things representing your favorite science fields, like planets for astronomy or plants for biology. There’s no better way to get geeky with your Halloween costume!
Image credit: Bettmann Archive
4. Halloween Costume Idea: Pilot
Channel your inner Amelia Earhart this Halloween and soar to new heights with your costume! Pilots like Earhart are constantly pushing the limits of human capabilities and represent the power of exploration to its fullest. This Halloween, imagine yourself touching the clouds as you fly from house to house trick-or-treating. If only there was candy hidden in the sky!
What You Need
Prepare for liftoff! For this Halloween costume, you need…
- Bomber jacket
- White-collared shirt
- Black pants
- Aviator glasses
- Scarf
How to Make It
This is another easy-to-make costume! Just put on your black pants, collared shirt, and then the bomber jacket over it. What brings this costume to the next level are the accessories! Many of the first pilots wore scarves as they flew because, as you can see in the photo of Amelia Earhart, they weren’t shielded from the wind. Just as well, every good pilot needs aviator glasses – aviation is literally in the name!
5. Halloween Costume Idea: Scuba Diver
Fun fact: The ocean takes up about 71% of Earth’s space, but we’ve only explored 5% of it! This makes a scuba divers’ job extra interesting – what can we learn about Earth from our oceans? You may not find the answer trick-or-treating, but you can get others excited about deep-sea mysteries with this unique costume! Plus, it’s DIY-friendly, so it’s your time to get creative!
What You Need
Before you dive into Halloween festivities, you’ll need…
- Wet suit (or black shirt and pants)
- 2x 2-liter soda bottles
- Rope or yarn
- Pool mask
- Glue and glue gun
- Scissors
- Paint and paint brush
- Black and silver duct tape
Image credit: Delineate Your Dwelling
How to Make It
To become a scuba diver, you first need your oxygen tank. This is where you can let your creative energy shine. Take the two 2-liter soda bottles and decorate them. Paint them, draw on them, add glitter – whatever you like! You can also wrap duct tape around them to give them a more metallic look. After you finish decorating, use your glue gun (with parental supervision!) to glue the sides of the bottles together.
Now that you have your tanks, you need to secure them to your suit! Take your rope or yarn and cut two large pieces. For each piece, glue the two ends together so you end up with two circles. These circles should be large enough to wrap around your shoulders while leaving a generous amount of room under your arm.
Take one of your rope circles and glue a section of it to the back of one of the bottles. Repeat with the second rope circle, attaching it to the back of the other bottle. Now, you should be able to wear your scuba tanks on your back, like a backpack!
Lastly, it’s time to put it all together! Put on your wetsuit, or a black shirt and pants, and your pool mask, which you can leave resting on your forehead. Slip-on your scuba tank, and you are ready to dive into piles of candy!
6. Halloween Costume Idea: Star Trek Science Officer
Science officers are the backbone of the Star Trek universe and are constantly in the pursuit of science! They conduct research and experiments that give way for some out-of-this-world adventures, and this Halloween, you can join in! Star Trek, science, and sweets … there’s no better combination!
What You Need
Delve into the world of Star Trek and make your costume with …
- Blue long sleeve shirt (or dress)
- Black pants
- Star trek pin (or markers to draw it on instead!)
- Black shoes
- Headband
- Silver duct tape or tinfoil
- Pipe cleaner
- Bobby pins
How to Make It
First, the outfit! Start by putting on the black shirt, and then slip the blue dress or shirt on over it. Then, put on your black pants (you can skip this if you’re wearing a dress!) and shoes. Add the Star Trek touch by pinning on a Star Trek logo pin, or use markers to draw it on instead.
Next, make your intergalactic microphone! Take a pipe cleaner and wrap it around the end of your headband. Then, cover the entire piece in silver duct tape or tinfoil. Put the headband on and adjust the pipe cleaner so that it extends to your mouth. You now have your own space-style headset!
Image credit: NASA
7. Halloween Costume Idea: Apollo Era Astronaut
Apollo-era astronauts were the beginning of human space exploration! Iconic for their large, white spacesuits, these astronauts opened a new world of possibilities for young scientists. They went where no one had gone before, and spending a night trick-or-treating as them is sure to inspire you to dream big!
What You Need
Get ready to land on the Moon and construct your own spacesuit with …
- Duct tape
- Pipe cleaners
- Black pom poms
- White paint
- Balloon
- Tissue paper
- White Tyvek Protective Suit
- Bowl
- Poster Board
- Scissors
- Newspaper
- White Paper
- Paint Brush
- Glue Gun
- White glue
- 2x 2-Liter bottles
- Paper towels
- Patches
How to Make It
I walked through how to make this Apollo-era Halloween costume in Season 2 Episode 1 of my series #AskAbby, which you can check out here!
Be the Star of Trick-Or-Treating!
Break out the art supplies and make these Halloween costumes your own! When your costume is something meaningful to you, it’ll make your holiday festivities unforgettable. So show off how cool science can be and be the star of trick-or-treating in your neighborhood!
For more ways to incorporate role models into your life, check out my book, Dream Big!: How to Reach for Your Stars. In it, I talk more about why it’s so important to have positive influences in your life and share how they can help you achieve your dreams!
I am yours Dream Big Read the book. It’s really important and an amazing book.