• Our STEM projects are designed so that participants get it wrong before they get it right. You will observe your students struggling as they attempt to create their own STEM projects. This process is an empowering experience, building perseverance, frustration tolerance and growing overall confidence! With your support, students will step out of their comfort zones to think, build and problem-solve for themselves.
  • Productive Struggle Opportunities:
    Tying knots
    Threading beads
    Interpretation of data. The Sun is the starting bead and then the gold bead numbers are listed in order from the sun.
    Perseverance in getting the correct number of beads counted and strung.
  • Science Standards
    VA SOL - Earth and Space Systems 4.5 a,b and, c
    NGSS - K-PS2-1, 3-PS2-3, MS-PS2-4

Objective

Students will begin to develop a concept of the Solar System, including the significance of the distance between the Sun and its orbiting planets.

Concept Overview

A planetary system, like our Solar System, is a group of planets that orbit around a central star. For an object to be called a planet, it must meet certain criteria: it needs to orbit a star, has enough gravity to form a round shape, and its gravity must be strong enough to clear other objects out of its path.

Gravity is a key force that holds our Solar System together. It is the “invisible glue” that keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun. Each planet stays on its path around the Sun because the Sun’s gravity pulls on it like a magnet.

The distance of each planet from the Sun greatly affects its environment and helps us classify the planets into three types: terrestrial planets, gas giants, and ice giants. Planets closer to the Sun, like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, are known as terrestrial planets. They are smaller, have solid, rocky surfaces, and are hotter because they receive more direct sunlight.

Farther from the Sun are the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. These planets are much larger than the terrestrial planets and do not have solid surfaces. Instead, they are made up mostly of hydrogen and helium gases. Because they are farther from the Sun, they are much colder than the terrestrial planets. Even farther out are the ice giants, Uranus and Neptune. These planets are also large but have a different composition than the gas giants. They have icy surfaces made up of water, ammonia, and methane ice. Being the farthest from the Sun, they are the coldest planets in our Solar System. This distance also affects how long it takes for each planet to complete one orbit around the Sun; for example, while Earth takes one year to orbit the Sun, Neptune takes about 165 Earth years to complete a single orbit.

The eight planets in our solar system are in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (see solar system wearables chart). It can be hard to keep track of so many planets, so we have a way to remember. We can use the sentence, “My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos.” We can use the first letter of each word to help us remember the planets in order from the closest to the sun to the farthest from the sun.

Science Goals

  • A planetary system is a group of planets that orbit a single host star. Our planetary system is called the Solar System and is comprised of eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
  • A planet must orbit a star, have enough gravity to force it into a spherical shape and its gravity must be strong enough to clear away other similarly sized objects near its orbit.
  • Gravity is what holds the planets in our Solar System together in orbit.
  • The distance a planet is from the Sun has a major impact on the environment of the planet and its orbit.
  • VA SOL 4. Earth and Space Systems 4.5a: Students learn the order of the planets in the Solar System by constructing a wearable model.
  • VA SOL 4. Earth and Space Systems 4.5b: The project teaches the characteristics of planets, highlighting differences between terrestrial planets, gas giants, and ice giants.
  • VA SOL 4. Earth and Space Systems 4.5c: Students explore the role of gravity in keeping planets in orbit around the Sun.
  • VA SOL 4. Earth and Space Systems 4.5d: The project addresses how a planet’s distance from the Sun affects its orbital period, helping students understand the varying lengths of planetary years.

Vocabulary

  • planetary system – a group of planets that orbit a single host star.
  • Solar System – the collection of eight planets, including Earth and their moons that orbit around the Sun.
  • orbit– the repeating path that an object in space takes around another object.
  • gravity – an invisible force that pulls objects toward each other.

Required Materials

  • string
  • tape
  • scissors
  • small bowl or cup to hold beads
  • Set of Solar System Beads
  • necklace clasp
  • Solar System Wearables Chart

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1

Students should use the Solar System Wearables Chart to create their project.

Step 2

Tie one end of the string to the circle clasp then make 3 tight knots!

Step 3

Add the appropriate solar system beads and spacer beads in the correct order, starting with the sun and ending with Neptune.

Step 4

Double check the correct number of spacer beads have been added.

Step 5

Finally, tie three knots around on the bar clasp after Neptune to secure the string. Check that it is secure before wearing it.

Optional STEM Activities

Resource 1

The planets in our Solar System can be tricky to remember! Here is one way to help students remembers the eight planets:

Using a large whiteboard or easel paper, write the sentence,My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos”. You can then make an acrostic, writing each of the planets vertically below the first letter of each word. Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune. We can use the first letter of each word to help us remember the planets in order from the closest to the sun to the farthest from the sun.

Maybe have some nachos too!

Resource 2

Advanced Exploration

The eight planets in our Solar System are separated into two categories:
Terrestrial” orJovian”. Terrestrial planets are small, rocky, have solid surfaces, don’t have rings, and have few moons. The four terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They are separated from the remaining four planets by an asteroid belt, which is a region of
millions of rocky objects.

The remaining four planets are “Jovian” meaning they are either gas giants or ice giants. Gas giants are primarily made of hydrogen and helium and ice giants contain rock, ice, and a mixture of water, methane and ammonia. All four planets have multiple moons, no solid surface, support ring systems and are quite large.

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It has no atmosphere to protect it and, as a result, it can reach up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and -290 degrees at night. While Mercury may seem hot, Venus, the next closest planet to the sun, is actually the hottest planet in the Solar System reaching 880 degrees Fahrenheit. Earth is the only planet in our Solar System known to have life, because of the presence of liquid water and its temperature. It orbits in an area known as the “ Goldilocks Zone ” which is just far enough from the sun that water does not evaporate into gas, but close enough so it does not freeze into ice. (JUST right for life!) The next farthest planet, Mars, is quite cold, although scientists believe in the past there may have been life on Mars. Next is Jupiter, which is the biggest planet in the Solar System. It is the closest gas giant to the Sun and is surrounded by rings of dust. Saturn is the second-largest planet, and the least dense. It has been noted for its rings which are made up of ice particles and rocks. Uranus was actually the first planet to be discovered. It is unique from the other
planets because it orbits on its side. Finally, there is Neptune which is so far away from the Sun that it takes four hours for sunlight to reach Neptune.  (for comparison it takes eight minutes for sunlight to reach Earth).

The distance of planets in relation to the sun, is measured by Astronomical Units (A.U.). One
A.U. equals ~ 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) and Earth is exactly 1 A.U. from the sun.

 

Resource 3

Solar System Art Gallery

Materials:

Black Construction Paper
Small sponges or sponge brushes
Brightly colored tempura paint or chalk pastels
Optional – Glittery markers or paints

Have students look at an image of the planets. Each student can choose one planet and observe the textures and colors they say. Using whatever mixed media you have provided students can paint or draw their planet. Talk with them about what they observe about the planet. You will also need to have someone paint the Sun!

Use the art to create your own Solar System Gallery in the classroom, hanging the planets in the correct order and relative distance away from the Sun! (this planetary system will have multiple of the same planet and that’s ok!)