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Attached is a great article about creating an exact scientific model of the planets in size and distance. The project would require over a kilometer of space and would take up a good amount of time about two weeks of lessons if done right. I am a student at UMBC and so I haven’t had a lot of real classroom experience. My question for classroom teachers is if this seems plausible for an elementary level classroom and how much preparation would have to go into something this big? Would a principal have to approve the lesson? The article is super interesting for those who are interesting in providing their students with models for the solar system in a big way!

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Take a Planet Walk (Journal Article)

You are certainly correct that the planet walk would be quite a project for elementary students. As the article states, it is geared to upper elementary. I would estimate at least sixth grade, maybe fifth grade. If would definitely be something that would need to be approved by a principal since it would involve taking students offsite. Another thing to consider is how much time it would take to accomplish this task. As a classroom teacher with many things to cover in a year, do you have the time to devote to this project? If you would like to do something similar on a smaller scale, take a look at the attached article where you create a scale model of the solar system in the hallway. You could still accomplish the objective of students learning about solar system distances which is a hard concept even for adults to understand.

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Tried and True: Solar System in the Hallway (Journal Article)

Hi Whitney and Betty,
There are some additional great resources about the Solar System at another discussion thread about this topic, too. It is so wonderful that the NLC haa so many great resources on this topic. Thanks for sharing your article choices!
Carolyn

As a 5th grade teacher at an aerospace magnet, I agree there are many effective ways to give students the beginning of a concept of the scale of the solar system right within the classroom. Much less time consuming. Doing something too big may take their focus off the actual lesson due to problems with logistics. It probably depends on the academic level of your students.

While I can definitely see the value in building the solar system on such a large scale, the reality is there is not always time for activities that can take weeks. The idea that it takes 1 kilometer of space might be difficult for a smaller school site or where space is limited. In a perfect world, we would be able to spend time and energy on unique learning experiences such as that. That said, there are many other ways to show the concept of the solar system in a meaningful way. I have found several lessons that incorporate drawing the planets on the playground in chalk (with approval of course) or using styrofoam balls to build a model. This is an inquiry activity that students could do in small groups and utilize their math skills when converting measurement scales. For example, the distances between planets could be drawn on a 1 astronomical unit= 1 inch scale (or whatever students deem appropriate). Spatial sense will come into play when planning for a particular space. I have a motorized model of the planets I purchased last year with school money. I have found over the years that it is worth it to spend the money to buy quality products that will demonstrate concepts to students so I do not always have to make something new each year. I plan on demonstrating this model to my students and possibly having them model their own solar system after it.

Alanya, Sounds like you are having fun with Solar System at any rate. My kids just drew it with allowances for different distance between planets. We did not do a great job with the scale. I hope to do better next year. Great for measurement and scale reading skills. How much did your model of the solar system cost? Where did you get it?

That video is great. Thanks for the resources.

I find the Take a Planet Walk article quite helpful. I’m intrigued to try it in my classroom. I agree that “Choosing a model that has already been proportionally scaled, students can conduct investigations within a context that is less likely to reinforce misconceptions about the scale of our solar system” (Schuster, 2008). However, making one with my students will provide them the opportunity to have a hands-on experience. I appreciated the Planet walk design measurements chart. This will make creating the scaled model easier. I think using sports balls as the representations of the planets is a very good idea, especially since there are so many different sizes.

Too bad the Bill Nye video was not on Discovery Ed or another site approved by the state. I did however find one on Discovery Ed that demonstrates the importance of teaching the solar system and how to scale it to a manageable size for the classroom. It's entitled A Scale Model of the Solar System. So, if you don't have access to Youtube, this video will suffice.

I know you can buy many of the Bill Nye videos. Is the solar system video available for purchase?

Wow, guys, great discussion. I'm going to just add my 2 cents. Whenever possible, I think it imperative to get the students out and moving. I also think it important to give the students a true experience of the scale of the universe. My students (4th and 5th grade) have a very difficult time conceptualizing things like space and scale. To have them actually construct the "to scale" models and then walk them into place - there is no real way that this can be replicated in the confines of the classroom. I think the hallway is a good compromise. A football/large field is better. If you scale the sun down to an inch (That Exploratorium site is awesome, thanks!) you can fit the orbit of Neptune in under 100 meters. Of course, your earth will only be 0.2 mm in diameter. This will be, to say the least, difficult for the students to construct, but I think even that difficulty can be used to illustrate the point that space is HUGE! It also gives them an opportunity to work with decimals, fractions and scientific notation - all kinds of useful math reinforcement. I think you can easily justify the time used for this. That being said, I did come upon (or someone around her linked to it) an interesting website that give a sense of the scale by having you scroll sideways - the page is scaled to the size of the solar system. Watching the students being confronted with how long it takes to scroll the page is completely entertaining, and, more importantly, leaves an significant impact. [url=http://www.phrenopolis.com/perspective/solarsystem/] Solar System to Scale - Website[/url]

Thanks for the resources.