Required Project Materials
- A variety of craft items, such as pipe cleaners, rubber bands, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, irregular rocks, etc.
- Balls of different shapes, sizes, and materials (styrofoam, rubber, wood, felt, marbles, etc.)
- Paint and brushes
- Construction paper
- Wire
- String
- Tape
- Glue
- Scissors
Multimedia Resources
- Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids. Seymour Simon. http://amzn.com/0688158439
- The Planets in Our Solar System . Franklyn M. Branley. http://amzn.com/006445178X
AND/OR:
- There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library) . Tish Rabe et.al. http://amzn.com/0679891153
Optional Multimedia Resources
- I Can Read About Planets. Darrow Schecter. http://amzn.com/0816736375
Before the Lesson/ Background Information
- Work on constructing your own solar system to bring to class and show as an example, and/or to generate your own ideas for how to use the craft materials.
Homework from Previous Session:
The Lesson
Part 1: Astronomy Basics (20 mins)
- Read books about the universe/solar system with the students.
- Review important terms and concepts by discussing them with the class.
Part 2: Build Your Own Solar System! (25-40 mins)
- Each student will build their own solar system (they can also work in groups for larger projects) by using their imaginations to figure out how to utilize available materials.
- The first step is to draw a design for the model they will build. Alternatively, they can write down steps for how they are going to build it.
- Students should figure out which materials they want to use, assemble these materials, and write a “List of Materials”. (Step 3 can also precede Step 2.)
- Students must follow the principles they learned, with the sun(s) in the center of the system, planets revolving around the sun(s), and satellites revolving around the planets. Systems can also include asteroid belts (a revolving motion is not necessary; the model should be like a single snapshot of the system).
- After the systems are built, have the students introduce meteors and comets. What happens to them as they enter the system?
- Explain to the students that they have just performed a science project. They created a list of materials, a methodology or design, completed an experimental model-building exercise, and tested the model.
- Students may take their creations home.