Solar System

Take a virtual tour of the solar system.

You’ve probably seen lots of drawings and diagrams of the solar system. But, to make the drawings fit on a piece of paper, the artists have to draw the planets closer together than they really are. In this activity, you’ll make a scale model of the solar system. You’ll be surprised to see how much bigger some planets are than others, and how far apart some of them are. Compare size of planets to get started.

Make your own scale model of the solar system!

What You’ll Need:

- Ball about 27 inches in diameter (such as a beach ball)

- 5 peas

- 1 orange

-1 tangerine

- 2 walnuts

- Tape measure

- Large open space

Step 1: Make your model in a large open space that will represent space.

Step 2: Put the beach ball or other large ball at one end of the space. The ball is the sun.

Step 3: Place the other objects as shown in the chart below. (Remember to measure each planet from the sun.)

Planet Object Distance from the Sun Mercury Pea 1-¾ inches Venus Pea 3-¼ inches Earth Pea 4-½ inches Mars Pea 7 inches Jupiter Orange 2 feet Saturn Tangerine 3 feet, 7 inches Uranus Walnut 7 feet, 3 inches Neptune Walnut 11 feet, 4 inches Pluto Pea 14 feet, 10 inches

To scale the solar system you can first experience it by looking at Scroll the Solar System.. You will see the time and distance between planets. You can make a miniature model of this system by following these instructions. You can then use your school as the sun and then walk distances away from it and place markers for each of the planets with information about the planets. You can draw the planets in their position in chalk, and mark it on a Google Scribble Map for others to seek and enjoy!