Solar System Scale

Astronomy:	Planet Scale, Solar System Scale
Grade Range:	Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Format:	Hands-on, Stage

Materials

Please read the General Safety section of the Demonstration Safety page before performing this demonstration.

Set up one half of the sun and connect the string to it. Explain to the audience that they are about to see a scaled-down version of our solar system.
Ask the audience to name the planets in order as you hang them. Be sure to give some quick facts on each planet (listed in Why This Works) Pause when you get to Mars, and explain that these four planets are the rocky planets. Have your co-presenter pull out the other half of the sun and set it up about six feet away from the first half, and emphasize the size difference.
Continue to have the audience name the planets as you hang them until you have all the planets on the string. Have your co-presenter hold the sun in place, or it might fall over!
Once you have all the planets on the string, Ask the audience if they can guess how far away the nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri, would be on this scale. Allow a few guesses until you reveal that it would be about 50 miles away!

Set up the string of planets, and connect the string to the sun. Set the sun and the string along a wall, and have the end of the string suspended on a hook or pole.
Allow students to come up to the string, and walk them down the length of the string so to see how big and small the planets are compared to each other. Provide some fun facts on the planets as you do so.

COMING SOON