How to Learn About Saturn for Kids

Emphasize the size of Saturn to a kid. Rather than tell the child that Saturn is about 74,500 in diameter, use the size of something he or she may be somewhat familiar with as an example. Tell her that Saturn is wider than nine Earth's set side by side.

Talk about the rings of Saturn. These rings, which encircle the planet at its equator, are composed of ice, dust particles, and bits of rock. To show how big they are, inform the child that the rings stretch as far as the moon is from the Earth.

Impress upon the child the odd features of Saturn's composition. Since it is made up almost entirely of helium and hydrogen, the surface of the planet is not solid, meaning someone on Saturn would eventually sink to its rocky core. Saturn is actually not even as dense as water, meaning that it would float.

Use the length of Saturn's rotational period around the Sun to get the kid's attention. Saturn takes 29.5 Earth years to make one trip around the Sun. An 8-year old child will be astounded when you tell him that when he sees Saturn in the sky he will be 37 years old by time Saturn has completed an orbit and returned to that same point in the heavens.

Tell her that on Saturn, the wind can blow as fast as 1,100 miles an hour. To allow her to comprehend this fact, let her know the strongest winds on Earth are a quarter of that and that living on Saturn would be equivalent to being in a constant tornado.