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Solar System Art Projects for School

A model of the solar system is a great way to help children visualize the vastness of the universe. Although the actual size of the solar system is beyond human comprehension, representing it in the classroom inspires children to consider what is out there, and stimulates their urge to know more. A few simple materials and a lot of imagination combine to make a fun and effective lesson in astronomy.

Make a Solar System Out of Balls
- Collect any balls that you can find, of as many different sizes as possible. Basketballs, tennis balls, ping-pong balls, and baseballs will all work. You can even use grapefruits and oranges. Help the children to decide which ball will represent which planet. If you have a very large balloon or an exercise ball, you can use one of these to represent the sun. Hang all the balls in order off of a long sturdy stick to represent the solar system. You won't be able to accurately depict the distances between planets with this project, but it is very useful for learning the names, locations, and relative sizes of the planets.
Make a Scale Representation of the Solar System on Paper
- Help children to visualize the incredible distances between planets with this exercise. Using a very long roll of adding machine paper or similar material, start by drawing the sun on it at a certain diameter. Be forewarned that even making the sun one inch in diameter will require Pluto to be 354 feet away! Kids can have fun doing the research to learn the relative sizes and distances of the planets, and then trying to fit them onto the roll of paper. They soon learn that the planets are tiny specks within a vast space. The Exploratorium website listed under Resources will get you started with your calculations.
Make a Comparative Outline to Demonstrate the Size of the Sun
- This exercise is best done in a large field. Start by researching the diameter of each of the planets and the sun. Scale down the numbers until the smallest planet is one foot in diameter. In the middle of the field, the children can represent this planet with something of a similar size. Each larger planet can then be represented by a circle around the previous one. Strings or ropes work well for this. Eventually you will end up with nine concentric circles. When you try to represent the size of the sun around these, you will probably run out of field. This is a great way to graphically depict relative sizes for children.

Astronomy