Download 48060 Play Ground Sized Solar System Guide

Canada:
EDUCATION
SUPPLY
ACTIVITY
No. 48060
”Play ground-Sized ”
30 Northland Road, Wa terloo, On tario, N2V 1Y1
©
2006
USA:
3251 Abbeville Hwy. Anderson, SC 29624
Solar System Model
Gain an appreciation of the size of our Solar System and learn abou t the
planets with a huge, “dress-up” model!
Para instrucciones en español, visite por favor nuestro sitio web:
www.roylco.com/es_48060.pdf
Für die deutsche Anleitung besuchen Sie bitte unsere Website:
www.roylco.com/de_48060.pdf
Teaching about the Solar System is a challenge for teachers
because the distances between the Sun and planets are almost
impossible to image. Even the sizes of the planets, from tiny
Pluto to gigantic Jupiter, are difficult to appreciate. We’ve
created this playground-sized model to help teachers explain a
number of Solar System concepts. First, children will learn that
planets orbit the Sun. Second, children will learn the order of
the planets relative to the Sun. Third, children will learn the
distances between the Sun and planets. Fourth, children will
learn the sizes and basic characteristics of the planets. Finally,
children will have fun learning about the Solar System because
they get to wear the beautiful, bright vests and go outside!
Use the Solar System model to enrich your astronomical
curriculum. The idea is simple: Measure out the cord according
to a specific ratio (it’s easy to do). Children put on the planet
vests and take one end of the corresponding cord. The child
wearing the Sun vest holds the other ends of all the cords. The
students wearing the planet vests walk out to the end of the
length of their cords and the model is complete. We’ve
included several integrated activities. In the classroom, children
can work alone or in groups to create their own models of the
Solar System with the “scaled-to-size” reproducible artwork.
In this kit you have a “planetary meter stick”. We have
printed all of the planets along with a number representing
their distance from the Sun in millions of kilometers. Use the
meter stick to measure out the cord. Here are the maximum
lengths of the cord:
Mercury:
0.75 m
Saturn:
18.10 m
Venus:
1.40 m
Uranus:
37.70 m
Earth:
1.90 m
Neptune: 57.15 m
Mars:
2.90 m
Pluto:
75.00 m
Jupiter:
9.90 m
Note: You can use these measurements or reduce them
proportionately to fit your playground or gymnasium.
The length of the cord represents the radius of the planet’s
mean orbit (some of planets have extremely elliptical orbits so
we’ve used the middle point between the planet’s closest and
furthest distance from the Sun). For instance, if you measure
out 75 meters for Pluto’s cord, the child will stand 75 meters
away from the Sun, and his or her orbit, when walking around
the Sun, will be 150 meters. Take this into consideration when
measuring out the cord lengths. If you playground is only a
hundred meters wide, then make Pluto’s cord length 50 meters
and subtract one third from each of the other distances.
Likewise, if you want to make a super huge model, supplement
our cord with cord purchased at the hardware store.
Tip: When measuring out the cord, thread a long pencil
Made in Canada
through the spool and hold the ends while pulling out the cord.
To prevent fraying, singe the ends of the cord with a flame.
A Note on the Vests: Each vest is printed on the front and
back with an image of the planet or Sun. For the planets, on the
back of the vest is an index of all of the planets with an arrow
indicating the planet’s position in the Solar System. On the front
of the vest is an image of the planet and an image of the Earth
so students can get a sense of the size of the planet. We’ve put
an image of the Sun relative to the planet to give students a
sense of the Sun’s size from the surface of the planet.
The Solar System model is a great way to work cooperatively
with older students. For instance, you can give older students
the planetary meter stick and ask them to calculate the lengths
of the cord by using the numbers printed on the meter stick and
the length of the playground as variables.
Once the cords have been measured and cut
to length, thread on the small planet tag to one
end of the cord. This will be the end that the
student wearing the Sun vest will hold. The tag
will come in handy when organizing students.
The vests are printed on tear-proof paper and then
laminated. To prevent tearing at the slit, reinforce it with a small
piece of clear tape on the front and back of the vest. If the vests
are too tight to fit over the head, use scissors to cut the slit
longer and then reinforce with tape.
Learn a little more about the Solar System.
For thousands of years people have been looking up at the
night-time sky and wondering about the moving objects they
saw. Even in ancient times, people realized that planets were
different from stars. They were different colors, and traveled
differently across the sky. The ancient Greeks and Romans
named the five visible planets after their gods. The remaining
four planets (for the sake of our information, we are including
Pluto as a planet) were discovered much later and the tradition
continued of naming these planets after Roman gods.
The four planets closest to the Sun are called terrestrial
planets because the have solid, rocky surfaces. The next four
planets beyond Mars are called gas giants. Pluto, on the outer
edge of the Solar System, is covered in ice.
Some of the planets have moons or rings. In fact, there are
153 known natural satellites (moons). Not all moons are the
same. Some are irregular, small or huge. Saturn’s moon, Titan,
has a thick atmosphere. Jupiter’s moon, Io, has active volcanoes.
Before 1977, only Saturn was known to have rings. Because of
probes sent out by NASA, we now know that Jupiter, Uranus and
Neptune have rings.
i de a s
Our Solar System extends beyond Pluto
—
e at
gr
and is defined by the Sun’s heliosphere
which is the “bubble” of solar winds and
charged particles blowing outwards from
the Sun. The radius of the heliosphere is
about 13 billion kilometers (8.7 billion
miles).
Fo r more
Pour instructions en langue française, veuillez visitez notre site
web: www.roylco.com/fr_48060.pdf
www.roylco.com
Printed in Canada