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Materials: (for
each group of 3 or 4 students)
11
sheets of construction paper or
4 x 6 file cards
1 marker pen or dark colored
crayon
One copy of a printout of this
sheet of instructions
Preparation:
Print
the name of one of the planets
on each sheet.
Also label sheets for the sun
and the moon.
Activity:
Using
a long corridor or outside
space, put the marker for the
sun down.
Now pace off and place the other
planets, using the measurements
below.
Each step = 30 million miles.
Place the moon a finger's width
from the earth.
If you have enough space you can
have several groups put their
sun in the same place and then
measure off the planetary orbits
in different directions.
Remember, the planets go around
the sun, not just away from it.
DISTANCE
TABLE
|
Distance
to the Sun
|
Total
steps from SUN
|
Pace
off the solar system like
this:
|
|
SUN |
0
miles |
0 |
START
HERE |
|
Mercury
|
36
million miles |
1 |
1
step to Mercury |
|
Venus |
67
million miles |
2 |
1
more step to Venus |
|
Earth
& Moon |
93
million miles |
3 |
1
more to Earth & moon |
|
Mars |
142
million miles |
4 |
1
more to Mars |
|
Jupiter |
483
million miles |
13 |
9
more to Jupiter |
|
Saturn |
885
million miles |
25 |
12
more to Saturn |
|
Uranus |
1.8
billion miles |
50 |
25
more to Uranus |
|
Neptune |
2.8
billion miles |
78 |
28
more to Neptune |
|
Pluto |
3.7
billion miles |
103 |
25
more to Pluto |
The
star closest to our sun is Alpha
Centauri. To get to Alpha
Centauri, you must walk another
200 miles!
Can you think of a city about 200
miles from where you are now?
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