Solar system for kids solar system lesson plans solar system literature book units solar system math solar system puzzles solar system reading comprehension solar system word searches space and stars the moon the sun uranus venus. List them on a sheet of paper, use the solar system to scale handout, the lithographs, or the 3d models of the planets. One visitor can hold one end of the string at the suns location while another. A simple, accurate 100m distancescale activity for our solar system. The lunar and planetary institute also has my neighborhood, planet sizes and planet distances activities, which have some useful scale information e. There are eight planets that directly orbit the sun.
Sizing up the solar system museum museum of the north. The solar system proves an abundance of learning opportunities. Using spreadsheet software, students will determine the size of andor distances between planets on a solar system model that fits on a playground. Solar system activities with free printables craftionary. Use ratio and proportion to compare the size of the scale model solar system to the actual size of our solar system. Scale model of the solar system science lesson plan most students dont have any concept of the vast distances and empty spaces of the solar system. Scale of the solar system universe in the classroom. Cut out the picture cards and sort them into two categories. Scale model of the solar system science lesson plan. Scale model of the solar system teaching resources.
K12 science teachers astronomical society of the pacific. Jan 15, 2016 the options are endless, but to keep things within budget it is best to print your own. This means that we will be making a mini version of the eight planets, where each one is the right size compared to the others. Many activities have been created to help gain a sense of the scale of. The distances and sizes are so far beyond our everyday experience. Scale model of the solar system lesson plan for 6th grade. Describe the parts of our solar system in terms of size, distance, and location. Astronomical distances, even within our own solar system, are very difficult for anyone, let alone children, to imagine. Scale model of the solar system big history project.
As a theme it also provides an opportunity to teach across many areas of. Jun 29, 2018 the solar system is vast and complex, but that doesnt mean it should be inaccessible for students. This graphic of the solar system was made using real images of the planets and comet halebopp. Overview students construct and where appropriate, calculate a scale model of the solar system using beads and string. In this activity, students will explore the vast distances between the planets in our solar system and also compare the size of our sun to the planets and our. Opening activity ask students to guess how far the solar system is across in kilometres.
Great activity for showing the actual size of the solar system. In fact, a solar system is the gravitationally bound system of the sun and the objects that orbit it, directly or indirectly. Printouts of images for each planet in our solar system allow you to create your own planets model. How long would it take to reach the edge of the solar system. In this activity students learn about the size of the solar system, beginning with the earth and moon, and expanding out to encompass all the planets.
I recently asked a group of high school seniors how close to the earth the moon was, compared to the sun, and students answered anywhere from a tenth to a hundredth the distance. For younger children you may wish to use inflatable planets as shown in this photo of midsummer day 2012 at beaghmore stone. Once students are finished, using e farmers market solar system key, reveal. Earth, jupiter, sun, moon, mars, neptune, space shuttle, comet, and satellite.
Create a scale model of the solar system by using each planets distance from the sun astronomical unit and convert it by moving the decimal place one space to the right,and measure the distance in centimeters. Mayo, nasa sunearth day earth as a peppercornsize and scale of the solar system guy ottwell, the thousand yard model sun tracking j. Using this document you can create a scale model of the solar system you will also need a way to measure out the distances up to 45m. This book was produced to commemorate the year of the solar system 201120, a martian. Opening activity ask students to guess how far the solar. Description this lesson allows students to visualize the comparative sizes and distances of solar system bodies by making solar system objects to scale using common objects, walking off the distances between planets and participating in a webbased sunearth scale model activity. That is why i made these free solar system printables in a scaledtosize ebook that you can print out and use to your hearts content in addition to these printable scaledtosize planet printables, i also made a list of several great solar system. Create a solar system scale model with spreadsheets. Included are the images of each planet and a comment describing how big they would be on this scale between 2cm and 0. Decide on the scale for your model toilet paper sheets are going to represent the. Use the new distance in cm to construct a scale model of our solar system. Prepared by jacob noelstorr download this activity in pdf format. Activity 1 the history and scale of the solar system.
Paper signs each sign should have the name of one of the objects in the solar system sun, mercury, venus, earth, mars, asteroid belt, jupiter, saturn, uranus, pluto. Mar 22, 2019 activities and ideas for teaching kids a unit on the solar system. Department of energys office of energy efficiency and renewable energy. The scale of our solar system is difficult to imagine when we are standing on what appears to be a large planet looking at an apparently small sun. Start the activity at the far end of the schoolyard. Decide on the scale for your model toilet paper sheets are going to represent the distances of planets from the sun in this model.
Pdf file moon walking pdf file books out of this world grades 56 make a daily solar system and planets activity lesson plan book daily solar system and planets activity lesson plan book. Many activities have been created to help gain a sense of the scale of the solar system by building scale models of it. To scale free solar system printables coloring pages plus resource list approved by high school aspiring astrophysicist. After activity d5 in solar project astro resource notebook. In addition, there are also the eight planets which become the largest objects that orbit the sun directly. This activity reinforces steamstem concepts as well as division and estimation in mathematics.
The mcdonald observatory at the university of texas at austin features an activity to help students in grades k5 understand the objects they see in the night sky with this activity that features constellations. They may use some fruits, nuts, and peppercorns more than once. See the farthest operating spacecraft, voyagers 1 and 2, still exploring 40 years later. Solar system scale and size mars activity has a useful vocabulary. Scale model solar system teachers guide the university of. In this activity, you will create a meterlong model of earths neighborhood and discover how far apart the planets are.
This procedure will give you the measurement of each planet in cm for your model. Overview in this activity, students use scale, proportion andor ratios to develop a scale solar system calculator. This activity includes pluto as a planet, even though it is now classified as a dwarf planet. Look at the following table to get an idea of the vast size of our solar system. Scale model of the solar system worksheets answer key. Our solar system is made up of eight planets and many other objects orbiting the sun. It is a good way to demonstrate the vast distances among the outer planets and to apply. Watch their young eyes fill with wonder as they contemplate the moon and how the earth was created. Students create a scale model of planetary distances. Download worlds of the solar system activity pdf, 1. Solar system scale after activity d5 in solar project astro resource notebook grades.
This lesson is one of many grade k12 lessons developed to bring the voyage experience to classrooms across the nation through the centers journey through. Join my newsletter list to be the first to hear our latest news. To see how large the solar system is, hold the sun in one location and swing the planets in a circle around it. This handson dynamic activity will give your students a sense of the vastness of our solar system and just how tiny our planet is in the whole scope of things. Using a long thin strip of paper, students first try to guess the relative distances between the sun, solar system members, and pluto.
As a theme it also provides an opportunity to teach across many areas of the primary school curriculum. Pencil directions 1 place the piece of paper on your desk in front of you vertically so that it is tall instead of fat. State that the planets in our solar system are separated by very large distances. Solar system on a string activity outline pdf model the scale of the solar system with this handson activity. Afterwards the teacher instructs them to fold the paper in a special sequence to discover the proper spacing. Astronomy day from mcdonald observatory solar system scale activity teacher guide materials needed per student. Drawing a scale model of the solar system notes to the teacher. Scale on a string scale model of the solar system the table below lists each of the planets for your scale model. Read more about plutos new status at our sister site, fact monster. We can draw plutos more eccentric orbit as similar to the orbits of comets using the two foci method we used before.
To scale free solar system printables coloring sheet. Except for pluto, the planets orbits have such a small eccentricity, we will draw their orbits as circles. Create a scale model of our solar system that includes distance from the sun and the diameter. Mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus and neptune. Schatz, pacific science center waxing and waningphases of the moon and eclipses e. Solar system earth jupiter mars mercury neptune planets pluto saturn. Use the ruler and mark out 10 equal portions on your playdoh each one will be 3cm wide. These strategies and resources are appropriate for students in kindergarten to grade 3. Talk about scale and how good a way to show the vast distances among the. It provides a huge opportunity for handson learning activities and science experiments. Scale model of the solar system in this scale model, 1 mm in the model 2000 km in real life. Create a solar system scale model with spreadsheets activity. Do you want to have the solar system coloring pages.
Playdoh scale models materials 3lbs of playdoh minimum quantity of playdoh required for this activity paper pens rulers 1 procedure. This educational material is brought to you by the u. Mar 12, 2020 do you want to have the solar system coloring pages. Students first need to calculate the distance between each of the nine planets according to the size of their scale.
Exploring solar energy student guide seven activities grades. The solar system is a broad topic that can inspire children and stoke their imaginations on many different levels. Use your knowledge of the solar system to solve these planet rhyming riddles. Complete the chart by multiplying each au distance by our scale factor of 10 cm per au. This permanent model can be used over and over again in many ways. In this activity, students use scale, proportion andor ratios to develop a scale solar system calculator.
Students create a scale model of planetary distances in the solar system. This scale model of the solar system lesson plan is suitable for 6th grade. Calculate distances to objects in the solar system in astronomical units au, light years, and parsecs. This lesson will introduce students to the solar system using the whats the difference. Be sure to include the asteroid belt and the kuiper belt. Welcome to the stereo learning center a scale model of the solar system using playdoh. Students will do some investigation about the solar system and then create a scale model of the solar system on register paper. You can teach about astronomy, physics, or biology. If you move counterclockwise you will be moving the planets in the direction they move as viewed from above their plane.
Free solar system printable coloring pages to scale. Explain, in your own words, the nebular theory of the formation of the solar system. Make a scale model activity and handout use a set of scaled balls and beads to show the relative sizes of the planets, the moon, ceres, and pluto to each other and to the sun. Scientists us astronomical units au when measuring distances in the solar system, simply because distances measured in kilometers can get very large. Astronomy day from mcdonald observatory solar system.
Even young elementary schoolers can grasp basic concepts about outer space, like the concept of planetary orbit and the relationship between the earth, the sun, and the moon. Identify some strengths and limitations of scale models. Topics covered scaled distances of orbits in the solar system types of objects in the solar system usefulness of models participants this activity is appropriate for families, the general public, and school groups ages 7 and up. Ask them to work collaboratively to discuss potential sizes. Images of the objects in the solar system the pocket solar system activity scales the planets orbits use this powerpoint to explore the solar system. A 24 sentence strip, or a strip of paper 3 wide by 24 long. Have students predict and make models of the size and distance of the moon in relation to the earth. Students learn the distances between the planets in our solar system. Mars is relatively close to earth, while the sun and other planets even farther away. Take the children outside to a large schoolyard or field.
The solar system answers the solar system is the gravitationally bound system consisting of the sun and the objects that orbit it. First, establish with your audience the order of the planets. This lesson allows students to visualize the comparative sizes and distances of solar system bodies by making solar system objects to scale using common objects, walking off the distances between planets, and participating in a webbased sunearth scale model activity. Solar system games and activities for science teachers. Scale distances in the solar system 104k pdf subjects. In this months spaceprogramrelated activity, students have the opportunity to create a visual and kinesthetic model of the solar system on a scale. This activity is related to a teachable moment from aug. Scale model of the solar system printable 2nd 5th grade. Students will construct a distance model of the solar system to scale, using colored beads as planets.
Document is completely editable for you to make changes as needed for your classroom. Solar system activities solar system analogies solar system compare and contrast solar system crossword. Using the printable provided in the pdf file on the mcdonald observatory site or creating your own for the constellations of the zodiac, students will explore the night sky and. Although we could print the planet sizes to scale, the paper would need to be way too large to show the scaled distances. Ask them to predict the size of each planet in the solar system using these materials and the d farmers market solar system worksheet. Scale model of the solar system scale model of the solar system. Earth as a peppercornsize and scale of the solar system guy ottwell, the thousand yard model sun tracking j. See more ideas about solar system activities, solar system and space activities. There are other objects that orbit the sun, however, they are. Scale model solar system resources for informal educators. If the distance from the sun to the earth is 2 feet in your scale model, compute the rest of the values below. Apr 09, 2020 scale model of the solar system for grade 6 to 12. Making a scale model of the solar system is easy if you remember to use each planets.
Distance from sun miles distance from sun feet mercury 35,983,610 0 ft 9 in venus 67,232,360 1 ft 5 in. Compare the trappist1 system to our solar system by measuring a length of string for each planet in our solar system equal to its distance from the sun and attaching it to the planet. To show a scale model of the solar system with the sun being 1cm would require about 64 meters of paper. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the informal science education division of the national science foundation, nasas offices of space science and education, the banbury fund, the clark foundation, and the many other companies, foundations, and individuals from around the country who have generously helped project astro achieve such tremendous success. Create a scale model of our solar system that includes distance from the sun and the diameter size of the planets. But just how big it is and how we fit into the grand scheme can be quite difficult for a person to grasp. Young scientists gain a better understanding of space, the solar system and its vastness by creating a scale model.
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