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How to Make a Solar System for Children

Your child wants to explore the solar system, but you can't afford the rocket fuel. It's a common problem, and one easily remedied with a few balls of foam and some string. It starts as an art project, and ends with an entire solar system in your child's bedroom to be explored anytime, night or day. The only question to ask is, "To Pluto, or not to Pluto?"

Things You'll Need

10 styrofoam balls (3 small balls, 5 medium balls, 1 large ball, 1 extra large ball)
2 wooden dowel rods, 36 x 1/8 inch
Craft snip scissors
Glue
Glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint
Construction paper
Paintbrush
Hook
String

Instructions

- 1
  
  Black paint
  
  Paint the dowel rods black. Alternatively, you can buy black wooden dowel rods.
- 2
  
  Measure
  
  Cut the dowel rods to the following lengths in inches: 2.5, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11.5, and 14.
- 3
  
  Glue
  
  Glue the three small balls (Mercury, Mars and Pluto) to the 2.5-inch, 6-inch and 14-inch rods. Glue the five medium balls (Earth, Venus, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus) to the 5-inch, 4-inch, 8-inch, 11.5-inch and 10-inch rods. Finally, glue the large ball (Jupiter) to the 7-inch dowel.
- 4
  
  Paint your planets
  
  Paint each planet and the Sun with the glow-in-the-dark paint. Use construction paper to create a ring for Saturn. Allow time to dry.
- 5
  
  All life revolves around the sun.
  
  Attach the dowel rods with their planets around the diameter of the sun.
- 6
  Attach string to the top of the sun, and hang from the hook.

Astronomy