All Activities
Science

Our Solar System

Overview

Students build a scale model of the solar system, discovering just how vast the distances are between planets and how empty space really is.

Learning Objective
Students describe the structure of the solar system and understand the scale of distances between planets.

Resources needed

  • Paper or stones to represent planets
  • A large outdoor space at least 100 metres long

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Ask: can you name all eight planets in order from the Sun?
  2. 2 Introduce: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
  3. 3 Discuss what the solar system contains: one star, eight planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, comets.
  4. 4 Go outside and build a scale model: the Sun is at one end, Earth is 15 metres away, Neptune is 450 metres away.
  5. 5 Walk the distances between planets — experience the vast emptiness of the outer solar system.
  6. 6 Ask: if the Sun were the size of a football, how big would Earth be? (About the size of a pea).
  7. 7 Discuss: how long does light take to travel from the Sun to each planet? (Earth: 8 minutes, Neptune: 4 hours).

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Research the moons of each planet — Jupiter alone has 95 known moons.
  • Discuss what makes Earth habitable: distance from Sun, atmosphere, liquid water.
  • Introduce exoplanets — planets orbiting other stars — and the search for life beyond Earth.
More information

Teach: solar system, orbit, planet, asteroid, comet, dwarf planet, light-year, AU (astronomical unit). The scale model is the most important activity — verbal descriptions of planetary distances are not effective without physical experience.

Focus on the eight planets in order and one key feature of each before the scale model activity.

Can students name the eight planets in order? Can they describe the scale of the solar system using at least one comparison that makes the distances tangible?

Use stones or marks in the ground as planets in the scale model. The outdoor space is the only resource needed.

Students and most diagrams show planets very close together. The scale model dramatically corrects this: the solar system is almost entirely empty space.

Understanding the scale of the solar system fundamentally changes students perception of space.

Activity details
Secondary Medium 25 minutes 10 minutes prep Whole Class, Small Group Outdoor
Topics
Solar System Planets Space