Paige Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Has anyone put together a solar system model kit that you liked? I really don't want to buy it all myself at the craft store. I'd rather have it all in a box with directions and stuff. I looked on Amazon and nothing gets good reviews. I want it to be to scale, which is the biggest problem. Most of the toy/kits I saw were not to scale. If you did it yourself without a kit, was it hard to find what you needed at the store w/out spending more than w/ a kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genny Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Sorry no help...I've been looking for the same thing... :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 We did this activity in our yard: http://www-tc.pbs.org/soptv/400years/files/resources/Toilet_Paper_Solar_System.pdf We did the shorter one, and instead of marking the toilet paper we made small planets out of paper plates. I didn't worry about getting the planets to scale; it was more about the distance. It took some time to do with 2 of us, but I think it gives a clearer picture of distances than making a small model. Don't do this outside on a windy day! I remember seeing a similar idea, but using wooden dowels stuck in the ground with a planet picture taped to the top and yarn strung between them to help get the distances correct. I think that an index card was hung on the yarn between the planets with a distance written on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I'm not sure that you could realistically make the sort of little model that you hang up to any kind of realistic scale. You would need to take up a large room with it. Or do an activity where you go outside in a yard or field as suggested above. I have seen ones where it's just the planets and Jupiter is a huge ball and Mercury is a tiny bead. But even that would be difficult to put up the way you would with a model... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisha Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 We used this one, and instead of putting it on the sticks on the base, I just ran fishing line through each ball and tied it to a piece of yarn and hung that up in our room. We did use the sticks and put the balls on one end, the other end stuck into an empty egg carton to hold the balls for painting. This worked well for the 3 & 6 year olds. The sizing seemed fairly accurate. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WWGIK2/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i06?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thanks! I hadn't bothered to run the ratios myself to see how crazy big it would have to be if I included the sun. I have the little battle inside me- half of me wants to do it the cheap and lazy way and half of me wants to do it just right! I think I'll mix it up. We might get a cheap little one for fun that we can make, and then I'll have them make their own planets to scale using stuff from around the house, maybe beads and styrofoam, or they could just cut out some 2D ones. I really like the idea of illustrating the distances to scale to, so we might take our "planets" to the yard and mark distances. We have a good sized yard, but we'll probably take the car to get to Pluto- too cold to walk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda's Mommy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We have this hanging from our hall ceiling. http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Inflatable-Solar-System/dp/B0006PJ104/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393559275&sr=8-1&keywords=blow+up+solar+system I used the command hooks with the metal hook, just bent them more to keep the stings from coming off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 If you make a model to scale, it is crazy big! And that's if your smallest planets are super super tiny (peppercorn size tiny). I don't think you're going to find a kit that will meet that need. most are geared to seeing what the planets look like and the order they belong in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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