How to Build a Model of the Solar System
Building a model of the solar system is a project that teaches children about the solar system and shows the order of the planets. Solar system models are rarely built to scale since the distances involved are too great. You can show the difference in planet sizes easily while building your own model of the solar system. You can make your planets and the sun bigger or smaller to show a rough scale of size differences. This project can be done without much cost; just a few simple supplies are required.
Things You'll Need
- Scissors
- Compass
- Different Colors of Construction Paper
- Nail
- String or Twine
- Tape
- Frozen Pizza Box
- Pencil
Instructions
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1
Use scissors to cut a large circle out of cardboard. A frozen pizza box is usually ideal for a circle 1 foot in diameter.
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2
Draw two straight lines from top to bottom and left to right on your circle. Make sure you draw these two lines so they are approximately at right angles. The center of your model will be where the two lines intersect. This is the location of the sun.
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3
Use your compass to sketch the orbit for each planet. This is approximate and not drawn to scale. The first 4 planets will be close to the sun. Leave a large space before drawing the orbits of the remaining planets. This space represents the asteroid belt.
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4
Use the nail to punch a hole in each orbit. Start with the center for the sun and work your way out to Neptune (or Pluto if you would like to include it). When you punch your holes do not do it in a straight line but offset each hole so you can see each planet when you are done.
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5
Cut circles out of different colors of construction paper. The sun will be the biggest with Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter being a little bit smaller than the sun. Remember that Saturn has rings.
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6
Cut lengths of string and tape them to each planet. Pull the other end of the string through the hole of the correct orbit and tape it down on the top. Once you have all the planets and the sun taped in the correct orbits, adjust the lengths of string so you can see each one of them.
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The last step is to hang your model of the solar system. Cut out three equal lengths of string. Tape down each end of string on top of the pizza box so it forms a triangle or pyramid. Tie down each one of the three pieces of string to a longer single piece of string. This string is used to hang the model of the solar system.
Enjoy!
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