Tag: Solar System

Science Activity: Solar System on a String

The Solar System is made up of the Sun, four terrestrial planets, and four large gas giant planets, plus large numbers of minor planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and an awful lot of space in between them all. This activity will give students an understanding of the scale of the Solar System in a school hall.

Science Activity: Comet Tails

Our Solar System contains the Sun, the eight planets, as well as numerous dwarf planets, many asteroids, and an unknown number of comets. Comets have often featured in historical accounts as portents of doom or disaster (one features in the Bayeux Tapestry, for example), but the reality is that they are giant dirty snowballs. As they get close to the Sun they begin to warm, and some of the ice begins to turn to gas, creating the spectacular tails visible from Earth. This activity helps students to understand what comets are made of, and why they look the way they do in the sky.

Science Activity: Edible Comets

Our Solar System contains the Sun, the eight planets, as well as numerous dwarf planets, many asteroids, and an unknown number of comets. Comets have often featured in historical accounts as portents of doom or disaster (one features in the Bayeux Tapestry, for example), but the reality is that they are giant dirty snowballs. As they get close to the Sun they begin to warm, and some of the ice begins to turn to gas, creating the spectacular tails visible from Earth. This activity helps students to understand what comets are made of, and why they look the way they do in the sky.

Science Activity: Solar System Touch Boxes

This activity uses touch boxes to illustrate some important characteristics of some Solar System objects and the differences between them. Children will be able to sense the differences in materials between several solar system bodies using everyday items as an analogy. This activity uses simple, easy to source materials, but the boxes do need to be assembled in advance.

The Girl Who Married the Morning Star

Imagine, that there is a prairie that stretches as far as the eye can see… With tall, golden grass that rustles gently in the breeze. And above the grass, there is the endless blue of the sky. And in the middle of that prairie, there is a circle of tents. And in the middle of circle of tents, there is a fire.  And sat round the fire, are the people, the first people of America. And they are talking, laughing, singing, drumming around the fire as the flames dance into the sky.