Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Gather your planets. Get a total of 9 Styrofoam balls, sold at most craft stores, to represent the 8 planets and the sun. Your selection should include 3 small balls for Mercury, Mars and Pluto; 5 medium balls for Earth, Venus, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus; 1 large ball for Jupiter and 1 extra-large ball for the sun.
Make Saturn's rings. Cut a circle out of poster board that is at least 1 inch larger than the medium ball you are using for Saturn. Cut a hole in the middle of the circle so it can be placed snugly around the middle of the Saturn ball. Glue into place.
Paint. Choose several colors of spray paint to color your planets and the sun. The planets can be painted any color you wish, but yellow works best for the sun and blue and green for Earth. Paint the large piece of foam core to represent the sky. It can be black, blue or again, any color you wish.
Set up your orbits. Draw a series of 10 dots across the foam core, starting with 1 dot on the far left where you will attach the sun, and systematically reaching across the board until the dot on the far left is the ninth one, where you will attach Pluto.
Attach the planets to the foam core. Snip off 10 pieces of thread of varying lengths. Attach one end of each thread to each planet and the sun by tying it in a knot around a pin head and inserting the pin into the Styrofoam ball at an angle. Apply glue to the pins before inserting, for a secure fit. Allow them to dry, then do the same on the other end of the thread, attaching the pin to the dots you created on the foam core. You can stick the pins all the way through the foam core and bend the ends with a pair of pliers so they stay secure.