Lifestyle
Help your child make a solar system
This solar system project for kids is the perfect way to help your child learn about the planets and stars and how they are aligned.
Making a solar system mobile can be an exciting and educational activity, especially when your child is learning about the wonders of our solar system.
With a few simple supplies and some craft paints, you and your child can embark on a journey through space right from your own home.
What you need
- Styrofoam balls in various sizes
- Styrofoam sheet (for Saturn’s rings)
- Wooden skewers
- Dowel rod
- Teaspoon
- Acrylic craft paints (red, orange, yellow, green, blue-green, dark blue, cobalt blue, light blue, white and black)
- Paint brushes
How to make it
Part 1: Constructing Planets
- To begin, gather the materials you’ll need for constructing the planets.
- Next, attach a skewer to each styrofoam ball, about halfway through, to make it easier to paint them. Arrange the balls in the correct order according to their sizes. The planets in order of size from smallest to largest are Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter.
- Use the styrofoam sheet to cut out Saturn’s rings. Trace circles on the sheet and carefully cut along the traced lines.
- Now it’s time to add detail to each planet. Help your child paint the styrofoam balls with the planet’s corresponding colours. For more information on what colours (and patterns) to use for each planet, click here.
- Let the planets and dowel rod dry completely before moving on to the next step.
Part 2: Putting Together the Solar System Mobile
- Cut strings at different lengths to hang the planets at various levels. The sun should have the shortest string, while Neptune should have the longest.
- Remove the skewers from the planets and tie a knot at the end of each string. Glue the knotted end into the hole left by the skewer in each planet.
- Attach the strings to the dowel rod, ensuring the sun is at one end and the planets are in the correct order. Keep the planets a good distance apart to prevent them from touching.
- Suspend the mobile by tying long pieces of string to each end of the dowel rod and securing them with glue. Hang the mobile from a hook in the ceiling using the remaining ends of the strings.
