Home >> Science & Nature >> Astronomy

How to Make a Model of Venus for a High School Project

Venus is called the Morning Star or the Evening Star, as it's most visible when rising or setting. Venus is the brightest planet in the solar system. Until the 1960s, it was thought Venus was Earth's "twin" planet. As technology advanced in the 1980s, scientists were able to image Venus's surface features. It turns out the planet is nothing like Earth. Making a model of the planet Venus is a good way for high school kids to learn about its geography and topographical landforms.

Things You'll Need

Internet access
Rubber balloon
Newspaper
Flour
Water
Bowl
Paint brushes
Tissue paper
Squeegee
Towel
Acrylic paints

Instructions

- 1
  Visit the library or use the Internet to find pictures of Venus. Go to NASA's website to access photographs of Venus taken with cameras sensitive to various wavelengths of light. Look at the infrared pictures of Venus taken by the Galileo spacecraft. Study the wind-blown cloud layers of the upper atmosphere, as revealed by ultraviolet pictures. Examine the surface of Venus, shown by radar mapping images sent back by the Magellan mission.
- 2
  Construct a model of Venus out of papier mache. Inflate a large rubber balloon. Mix up a batch of paste. Combine one part flour with one part water in a bowl and stir it up. Rip up newspaper into small strips. Instruct the kids to dip the paper into the bowl of glue and lay the strips flat on the balloon. Smooth the paper out with fingers or a moist paint brush. Remove all wrinkles and air bubbles from under the paper.
- 3
  Cover the balloon completely with papier mache, except for a small hole at the top. Squeegee or wipe off any excess paste with a damp towel. Stick on a second layer of paper. Overlap the edges of the pieces of paper. Tear up strips of yellow, light brown and white tissue paper for a third layer. Alternate the strips to imitate the stripes and layers of the Venusian upper atmosphere. Air dry the globe for two days. Pop the balloon and pull it out the hole in the top of the model.
- 4
  Use your reference photographs and images to paint a realistic representation of the cloud layers of Venus. Use quick-drying acrylic paints. Thin the acrylics with water. Brush on large areas of yellow and tan colors over the strips of colored paper. Paint with thicker and lighter colors to build up and define the edges of the cloud systems. Use brush strokes to define the directional patterns and textures of the moving clouds.
- 5
  Mix white paint with the yellow and brown to represent the highest clouds. Add in highlights and streaks of pure white to represent sunlight shining on the highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide. Paint in details such as swirling storms and bolts of lightning. Let some of the darker underpainting show through the clouds to suggest the planet's surface. Paint mountains, volcanoes, sand dunes and surface features such as corona, or ring-like lava structures.

Astronomy