Ever wonder exactly how far away the planets really are?  Here’s the reason they usually don’t how the planets and their orbits to scale – they would need a sheet of paper nearly a mile long!


To really get the hang of how big and far away celestial objects really are, find a long stretch of road that you can mark off with chalk.  We’ve provided approximate (average) orbital distances and sizes for building your own scale model of the solar system.


When building this model, start by marking off the location of the sun (you can use chalk or place the objects we have suggested below as placeholders for the locations).  Are you ready to find out what’s out there?  Then let’s get started.


Materials:


  • measuring tape (the biggest one you have)
  • tape or chalk to mark off the locations
  • 2 grains of sand or white sugar
  • 12″ beach ball
  • 3 peppercorns
  • golf or ping pong ball
  • shooter-size marble
  • 2 regular-size marbles

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Comments

11 Responses to “Build a REAL Scale Model of the Solar System”

  1. celia_solarez says:

    Is there a link to the decimal/fraction conversion chart shown in the video?

  2. I’ll have my team connect with you right away!

  3. Genesis VanDeWalle says:

    can you let us have the aviation coriculem and marine biology 123

  4. Oops – you’re right! The download was missing. I just posted it again. So sorry about that – thanks for your eagle eye!

  5. Nicole Whitaker says:

    where do we find the sheet of paper your using?

  6. Tracy Davis says:

    haw do you do that. judah 8

  7. Suna Price says:

    “OH YEAH! This kind of science ROCKS!” – Tyler (age 9)

  8. ‘acure’? I have Uranus listed twice on the page for distance, depending on which model you are working with.

  9. Athena Herder says:

    it did not acure how far uranus was.

  10. Athena Herder says:

    I wasn’t expecting somthing this big…. or small. It is INCREDIBLE!!!