Reading time: 7 minutes.
Space beckons with its mysteries and mystery. Let's try to understand the complex structure of the Universe using simple examples. Let's make a model of the solar system with the children and go on a journey to distant stars.
www.oyuncax.com
There are a lot of stars and planets in our Universe. They are far from each other, but we can see some even with the naked eye. All planets are different, and only on Earth there is life. Our Earth revolves around the Sun, and with it seven other planets. Some planets have satellites. The Earth, for example, has the Moon.
A simple rhyme will help you remember all the planets of our solar system:
All planets in order
Any of us can name:
One - Mercury,
Two - Venus,
Three - Earth,
Four - Mars.
Five - Jupiter,
Six - Saturn,
Seven - Uranus,
Behind him is Neptune.
He is the eighth in a row.
In order for this short story to resonate with a child’s soul, we suggest making a visual model of the Solar System, guided by one of the proposed ideas.
tolko-poleznoe.ru
The universe is limitless, but for convenience, let's put part of it in a shoebox. Space in a box is not difficult to make, the materials are very simple.
Remove the lid from the shoe box. Invite your child to paint the bottom and sides with the “color of space” - dark blue, black. Make stars from plasticine or colored cardboard and glue them to the walls of the space box. The most important part of the work is to sculpt all the planets of the solar system and the Sun itself. Help your child attach space objects to strings and secure them to the top wall of an upside-down box.
While they were crafting, we remembered the names of the planets, tried to approximately maintain their sizes relative to each other and fix their location relative to the Sun and their neighbors.
fastory.ru
If your child is one of those who likes to study the issue thoroughly, in all the small details, be puzzled by the appearance of the planets. Discuss why this or that planet is the color it is and what this is connected with.
www.lassy.ru
Mercury grey . The surface is rocky with large craters.
www.lassy.ru
Venus yellow-white. It has this color due to a dense layer of sulfuric acid clouds.
www.lassy.ru
Earth light blue. The oceans and atmosphere give it this color when viewed from a distance. When you get closer, you can see the colors brown, yellow and green.
www.lassy.ru
Mars red-orange. It is rich in iron oxides, due to which the soil has a characteristic color.
www.lassy.ru
Jupiter orange with white splashes. Orange is due to ammonium hydrosulfide clouds, white is due to ammonia clouds. There is no solid surface on Jupiter.
www.lassy.ru
Saturn light yellow. The red clouds are covered with a thin haze of white ammonia clouds, creating the illusion of a light yellow color. There is no hard surface.
www.lassy.ru
Uranus pale blue due to methane clouds. There is no hard surface.
www.lassy.ru
Neptune pale blue. Covered with methane clouds (like Uranus), but due to its distance from the Sun it appears darker. There is no hard surface.
www.lassy.ru
Pluto light brown. The rocky surface and dirty icy methane crust give it such a hue. Sometimes it is referred to as the 9th planet of the solar system, but it is worth knowing that not so long ago it was excluded from the list of planets and classified as dwarfs. Astronomers have substantiated the reasons for this.
fruktoviysad.ru
The planets revolve around the Sun along a certain trajectory. To explain this to your child, make a layout on a horizontal plane. Draw circles and place each planet on its own “treadmill.”
tolko-poleznoe.ru
You can show the approximate distance from the planets to the Sun on a model with wooden skewers.
spacegid.com
twlwfiv.appspot.com
You can visually depict the size of the planets and the distance to the Sun in this way. The planets are wool balls. The sun is the top of the tree. Each planet is on its own “branch”.
mamadelki.ru
dmitrykabalevsky.ru
Here is an example of a visual aid that not only explains how everything works in the Universe, but also serves as a decoration for the room, an excellent decoration for.
nacekomie.ru
You can also find worthwhile manuals on sale that will clearly demonstrate the “relationships” between the planets of the solar system.
nacekomie.ru
Tell us what layouts you came up with. We are waiting for stories and photos in the comments.
Children's interest in space and the structure of the solar system is no longer as widespread as before. But every parent has to explain to their child the principles of the movement of planets around stars. The easiest way to do this is to use the Solar System craft. You can build such a model with your own hands. Start creating it with your child so that together you can study the structure of the planets and understand the basics of astronomy.
DIY “Planets of the Solar System” craft
The easiest way to make such a model is using plasticine. The child himself can choose certain colors of this material and mix them to decorate this or that planet. Try opening a star atlas with your children and look at the real sizes of celestial bodies, comparing them with the Sun. Explain the difference between terrestrial planets and gas giants.
Explain to the children that the display of the solar system in the craft will be conditional. In fact, large planets and planets are very different from each other. Read about the different types of cosmic bodies and discuss their main features. Draw the child’s attention to the Earth, find pictures with its real shape. Think together why our planet is not round, but more like an irregularly shaped apple, and try making it out of plasticine with your children. Balls can also be felted from felt. But then you need to stock up on finger protection so that the child does not get hurt when working with a sharp needle.
Craft using foam balls
Crafts with planets of the solar system can be designed in different ways: hung on a fishing line and attached to a hanger, or placed on thin barbecue sticks, connecting them with a star in the center. The celestial bodies themselves are often made from foam blanks, because such material is convenient to use and design. The foam ball is lightweight, it is easy to paint it in any color if you use acrylic, and the blanks are easy to fasten together. The easiest way to make a “Solar System” craft is in the form of a mobile.
Necessary materials:
- foam balls of different sizes,
- a long piece of wire or thick wire,
- pencil,
- cardboard,
- PVA glue,
- fishing line,
- hook,
- acrylic paints,
- brush,
- scissors.
It may take several days to create the product, since the blanks need to be dried well after painting. Before starting work, arrange everything by size: each of them must correspond to a specific planet. Make marks on the blanks for the Solar System craft with a pencil so as not to get confused about which celestial body is which.
How to paint blanks
Use acrylic paints to paint the blanks. The sun should be the largest. To create a "stained" effect on it, spray the surface with red, orange and yellow paint. You can use a brush and mix several shades directly on the ball, or pour paint onto a paper plate and dip the workpiece into it, stringing it onto a toothpick. Keep experimenting until you have painted all the planets. Make rings for Saturn from cardboard and glue them dry to the workpiece.
Another option for creating planets
An even simpler way to make a “Solar System” craft is to use the papier-mâché technique. To work you will need:
The napkins need to be divided into layers and finely torn. Ball - inflate to the desired size and tie with threads to give it a spherical shape, and then stick on several layers of napkins, drying each of them before applying the next. When the workpiece is dry, pierce the rubber ball with a needle and remove it. You can make planets from threads using the same technique. For this you will need floss or cotton yarn. Coat the balloon with glue and wind the threads around it in a chaotic manner, and then leave it to dry, hanging it on a clip or clothespin. Remove the ball by piercing it.
Product assembly
When the paints are dry, use barbecue sticks or long knitting needles to pierce the pieces all the way through. Thread the fishing line through the holes and secure it. Bend a thick wire into a spiral and tie the planets to it one after another, changing their height. Then cut four more pieces of fishing line and attach it so that all the pieces are balanced and hang straight. Connect the lengths and thread them into a hook or other fastener to hang the finished mobile from the ceiling. The DIY “Solar System” craft is ready!
Balls can also be attached to ordinary knitting needles or wire, connecting to the center, but then the product cannot be hung. Sometimes, instead of wire, they use an ordinary plastic or metal hanger, tying a fishing line with planets to its lower part. Add labels to celestial bodies with names or various facts about them. If you use paint that glows in the dark, then the mobile will become even more attractive to the child.
When children begin to learn the concept of the solar system and understand the fact that all the planets “orbit” the sun, they may find the process difficult and overwhelming. However, a child can better understand these principles if a visual aid is provided. Of course, it will be better and more enjoyable if parents and their son or daughter make their own models of the solar system. Although many mothers and fathers do not consider this necessary and buy ready-made layouts.
Solar system: general information
Planet Earth makes one revolution every year around the center of the solar system - the Sun. All planets revolve around a certain amount of time. For example, Mercury will “go around” the Sun in 88 Earth days, and Uranus in 84 Earth years. There are 8 planets in total in our system: Mercury, followed by Venus, then Earth, followed by Mars, followed by Jupiter, then Saturn, followed by Uranus, then Neptune. Each of them, together with meteors, satellites, comets, dust or gas formations, is an integral part of the system. The planets closest to the Sun are very hard due to their constant high temperature. As you move away from the star, the temperature gradually decreases.
Features of some planets
The smallest is Mercury. This object in the galaxy is located closest to the Sun. Because of this, the atmosphere is completely scorched. Moreover, on the light side the temperature reaches +430°, and on the dark side - -170°.
Of particular interest is Saturn with its rings. This planet has a three-layer atmosphere. Saturn's rings are made of rock and ice. On the surface of the planet the temperature reaches -150°.
To understand the principle of “work” of our “microgalaxy”, one of the ways can be to make models of the Solar System. This way you can decorate the interior and make an excellent visual aid.
Option #1. How to Reconstruct the Solar System
To create a solar system you will need:
- a circle cut out of cardboard (diameter about 30 cm);
- scissors;
- a simple pencil;
- colored paper;
- fishing line;
- scotch;
- colored pencils and markers;
- compass.
Step 1. In the center of the cardboard circle you need to draw two perpendicular lines. The intersection of these diameters will serve as the anchoring point for the Sun.
Step 2. Using a compass, the parent or child should draw 8 circles of different diameters that will serve as orbits. It should be taken into account that 4 orbits should be closer to the Sun. Then leave a gap for the asteroids. Next come the “houses” for the remaining planets. After drawing the orbits, you need to make holes in the cardboard with scissors. One of the holes should be in the center. The rest are in a chaotic order, with one hole in each orbit.
Step 3. You need to cut out the planets and the Sun from colored paper of a suitable color. On each cut out circle you can write the names of the planets.
Step 4. Use tape to attach the fishing line to the objects. The free end of the fishing line is attached with adhesive tape to the outside of a large cardboard circle. The planets are in the following sequence, starting from the closest to the Sun: the first is Mercury, the second is Venus, the third is Earth, the fourth is Mars, the fifth is Jupiter, the sixth is Saturn, the seventh is Uranus, the eighth is Neptune.
Step 5. The length of the fishing line can be adjusted to your liking. After securing the planets, you need to hang a model of the solar system, made with your own hands, using three pieces of fishing line of the same length connected with one longer piece with a ring. The model is ready.
Option #2. How to Reconstruct the Solar System
For the Solar System, you need to prepare the following materials:
- large foam ball;
- 9 bamboo skewers;
- 9 foam balls;
- adhesive tape;
- scissors or knife;
- ruler;
- marker;
- paints, pins, fishing line;
- paper.
Step 1. Cut strips of adhesive tape and label them with the name of each planet and the Sun.
Step 2. Prepare 9 bamboo skewers of different lengths:
- I - 2.5 inches = 6.35 cm;
- II - 4 inches = 10.16 cm;
- III - 5 inches = 12.7 cm;
- IV - 6 inches = 15.24 cm;
- V - 7 inches = 17.78 cm;
- VI - 8 inches = 20.32 cm;
- VII - 10 inches = 25.04 cm;
- VIII - 11.5 inches = 29.21 cm;
- IX - 14 inches = 25.56 cm.
Step 3. Paint the prepared paints in accordance with the color of the planet: the Sun (the largest ball) - yellow, the Earth - green and blue, Mars - red, etc. Wait until the paint dries completely.
Step 4. Place labeled pieces of adhesive tape onto the dried balls.
Step 5. Attach a 2.5 inch skewer to the Sun, and attach Mercury to the other end. Then the remaining planets are fixed in the same way in the correct order.
Step 6. You can tie up the created system by attaching a pin and fishing line to the solar system model.
OK it's all over Now. You can create various models of the solar system from numerous materials. The main thing is to give free rein to your imagination and study literature.
Another similar model, made of papier-mâché.
Several examples of hand-made models of the Solar System are shown in the photographs below.
These images show that you don't have to be to make a visual, convenient, and simply beautiful reconstruction of the Solar System.
When children learn the concept of how the universe works, they begin to understand the fact that all the planets revolve around the sun, and for little ones this process sometimes seems very difficult. But a child will be able to better understand these principles if he makes a visual model of the solar system. Naturally, it will be nicer and better if parents and children make this model together. Although many adults find this difficult, and they purchase ready-made products.
Planet Earth makes one circle around the Sun every year. All celestial bodies rotate around the Sun in a certain period of time. For example, Mercury will circle in 89 days, and Uranus in 85 years.
There are a total of eight planets in our Universe: Mercury, Pluto, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. All of them (along with satellites, meteors, gas or dust formations, comets) are an integral part of the Universe.
The planets that are closest to the Sun have a very hard structure due to constant elevated temperatures. Taking into account the distance from the center of the solar system, the temperature begins to decrease.
Materials used
Making a model of the solar system for school with your own hands is quite simple. Making a model just seems like a time-consuming task. At the beginning, you just need to decide on the choice of materials for work. As a rule, the layout is made using the following materials:
This is not a complete list of materials, because there is no limit to imagination. You just need to imagine exactly how the future product will look like as a result and it will immediately become clear what material to choose for this.
Making from plasticine
The easiest way to make a model of the solar system is from plasticine. The result is a fairly realistic three-dimensional model, and you will spend no more than one hour on production.
The stages of work are as follows:
All manufactured balls must be put on skewers and connected to the Sun. The plasticine model of the Solar System is ready.
Three-dimensional cardboard model
To make a three-dimensional model of the Solar System from plasticine on cardboard, you only need to additionally use felt-tip pens of various colors. When all the required material is prepared, you can begin to work.
Foam balls
You can also make a visual model using foam balls. This procedure, although more painstaking, is at the same time fascinating and uncomplicated. This model can be made together with your child. Thus, he will certainly remember what all the planets look like.
Required materials: foam sheet, foam balls of various sizes, wooden rod, acrylic paints, PVA glue, fishing line or thread, knife, hook, scissors, wooden sticks, tablespoon, brush.
The work process is as follows:
If you have time, you can add additional various asteroids, comets, and planetary satellites to your model. The finished model will only benefit from this.
Making planets out of fabric
Such a craft can be an educational and fun toy, or it can be a real aid to space exploration. You can use a regular gymnastic hoop as a frame and sew a black fabric cover on it. If necessary, it can be easily removed and washed.
All planets are made from materials of different textures. Sewing planets with your own hands is quite simple. First, you need to cut out two circles from the fabric in accordance with the size of a particular planet. After this, they are sewn together from the outside in and turned inside out. Now you just need to stuff the resulting balls with cotton wool or foam rubber and carefully sew up the hole. The product is ready.
Here you will need to select certain fabrics for different planets. If you don’t have such a wide variety of fabrics at home and you need to go to the store, then be sure to write down for yourself what texture and color of materials you need.
Required materials for production:
Papier-mâché sun
To make a model of this star, unusual materials will be needed. The layout will be made in papier-mâché style. The product will turn out very beautiful and voluminous. To people who have already worked with this technology, making a Sun will seem like a fairly easy process.
Required materials: waste newspapers, balloon, paper, thick cardboard, regular starch, water, primer, acrylic paints, sponge, brush, clear varnish.
Step-by-step manufacturing instructions:
Method for making Mars
This model can not only decorate any room, but also take its place of honor at an exhibition at school. Although making Mars is quite simple, one way or another, production has certain nuances. Only if you strictly follow all the rules will you be able to make such an original design.
Materials for making: globe, PVA glue, paper, putty, brushes, acrylic paints, clear varnish.
Manufacturing instructions:
Making a model of the Solar System is a rather educational and exciting process. There are many options for these crafts, but you don’t need to immediately choose the simplest ones. Because if you spend a little more time creating a product, the result will be better. And the pleasure directly from work will be much greater.
To make it easier for a child to learn school material, there are visual aids. And in order to learn to think on a “universal scale,” the universe must fit on his desk. And this is a great opportunity to show your creativity and, together with your child, make a model of the solar system with your own hands.
Joint creativity between parents and children always has a beneficial effect on friendly and trusting relationships between them. And in this case, it also has a cognitive purpose that will broaden the horizons of not only the child, but also the adult. Our solar system includes the Sun and nine planets with their satellites.
These are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. They have different sizes, colors and at different distances from the Sun. This must be taken into account when making a model of the solar system.
In the model we simulate only planets, but if desired, we can also designate their satellites. To maintain the sizes of the planets in relation to each other, you can use the photo as a guide:
An endless universe of crafts
So how can you make a solar system model for kids at minimal cost? There are several ways.
The most primitive model of the solar system can be made from plasticine or salt dough, painted in the desired colors. It is suitable for the smallest babies.
This model will give the child an idea that all planets revolve around the sun and their number.
- let's blind the orange sun;
- brown-orange Mercury;
- in the same color we sculpt Venus;
- the Earth will be blue and green;
- black-red Mars;
- Jupiter will be brown;
- We blind Saturn with rings;
- Uranium will be made of blue + gray mass;
- We sculpt Neptune from blue;
- gray Pluto.
We string all the “planets” onto wooden skewers and attach them to the “Sun”. For greater clarity, skewers can be made of different lengths. Ready.
A plasticine model can be made on a plane:
As a gift for a little schoolchild, you can make a model of the solar system from papier-mâché.
Papier-mâché (translated from French as “chewed paper”) is a plastic mass made from paper with the addition of binders and adhesives (starch, gypsum, glue).
A paper layout is the simplest and most affordable to make. A detailed master class with photos will help you make it.
Materials for work:
- newspaper;
- gray toilet paper;
- office glue;
- plywood sheet;
- colored gouache paints;
- quick-drying blue paint;
- some silver beads.
Make a ball of newspaper soaked in water.
We wrap it with toilet paper and roll this lump into a bun. Lubricate the paper bun with glue, spreading it evenly over the surface.
Leave the balls to dry at room temperature or on a radiator.
While the parts are drying, let’s prepare the basis of the layout: we cut out a circle of the required size from plywood, taking into account the size of the prepared planets. We paint it with blue paint.
We make scatterings of stars from silver-colored beads, evenly distributing them on a circle, according to the picture of the starry sky.
We paint the dried koloboks, imitating the color of the planets.
We will make the rings of Saturn from silver paper.
It is imperative to accurately position the planets in relation to the Sun.
We screw screws into the bottom of the plywood, according to the location of the planets.
We screw our “planets” on top of them.
Our model of the solar system is ready.
During the manufacturing process, you can tell your child about the structure of the solar system, about the planets and everything that will be interesting to him. And such a gift will take on special meaning for him.
A wonderful idea to create a model of the solar system as an element of the interior of a children's room.
First, we decorate part of the ceiling as a starry sky.
We make planets from papier-mâché as described above.
We paint them with acrylic paints. It is more effective to use glossy ones.
We pay a little more attention to the sun. We color and make rays from a strip of faux fur.
We attach a fishing line to the “planets” and secure them with paper clips or a stapler to the ceiling, observing the order of their location from the “Sun”.
Simple memos
Sometimes it is difficult for children to remember the names of objects that they do not often encounter in everyday life. To make it easier for them to memorize, adults come up with special rhymes in which the first letter of the word coincides with the first letter of the name of the object that needs to be remembered. Such poems are called mnemonic.
Probably, many in childhood learned the names and order of the colors of the rainbow from the phrase “Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits.”
Children's poems and funny phrases have also been invented to remember the names and order of the planets of the solar system. You can learn a poem by Arkady Khait with your child:
- Any of us can name all the planets in order: one - Mercury, two - Venus, three - Earth,
Four - Mars, five - Jupiter, six - Saturn, seven - Uranus, followed by Neptune.
Another well-known funny mnemonic phrase for older students:
- We Know Everything – Yulia’s Mom Got on Pills in the Morning.
Or another poem:
- There lived an astrologer on the moon,
He kept records of the planets.
Mercury - one, Venus - two, three - Earth, Four - Mars, Five - Jupiter,
Six - Saturn, Seven - Uranus, Eight - Neptune.
During the making of the model, the child will be happy to learn the names of the planets with the help of funny poems.
More layout options can be seen in the photo:
As you can see, making such crafts is not at all difficult. It is enough to be able to make balls from different materials and be able to use your imagination. And all participants in this educational process will benefit and enjoy it.
Video on the topic of the article