Monday, December 9, 2013

Solar System Studies - Model Solar System - Fall 2013

Our Classical Conversations group headed to a baseball field one day this fall to build a to scale model of our solar system. This was such a fabulous way to increase the kids understanding of the size of our solar system. Here's Reagan and one of her classmates caring the "sun" to the baseball field.
 Getting organized and beginning to measure
 The little brothers had fun running around the baseball field while the big kids worked to put our solar system together.
 Getting final instructions on how to visit all the planets
 Here are some of the kids with the inner planets and sun. Golf balls were used to demonstrate the difference in size between the "Rocky Midgets" (including Earth) and the sun. Actually, Mercury and Mars were only the size of a marble!
 
The tutors (teachers) had cards for each planet that explained distance, size and other details about each planet.
 The kids traveled by class between the planets where the tutors explained the differences between the planets. Here is the first of the "Gas Giants," Jupiter, represented by a soccer ball. The kids also discussed and laid out the number of moons around each planet (using marbles).
  Getting a look at Saturn and it's rings
 
 Here the kids are creating the asteroid belt between the inner and outer planets using more marbles
A picture of the first five planets including the completed asteroid belt
 Moving out into the outer reaches of the solar system with a visit to Uranus 
   The entire solar system; Neptune is pretty far out there!
What a great way to explore and understand the size of our solar system! I'm so thankful for Classical Conversations and projects like this that the kids get to do with their classmates and friends!

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