Scale Solar System Walk

None required if done somewhere safe to walk, such as a park or long corridor.

Disposal: No special disposal — reusable materials.

Materials

• A tape measure or a marked-out long space (e.g. a park path)
• Small objects or labels to represent each planet
• A larger object (e.g. a basketball or beach ball) to represent the Sun

Steps

1. Choose a scale where the Sun (represented by the larger ball) is placed at one end.
2. Using a consistent scale (for example, 1 step = a fixed real distance), pace out and mark where each planet would sit relative to the Sun.
3. Notice how much closer together the four inner rocky planets are compared to the huge gaps to the outer gas giants.
4. Compare the relative sizes of the small objects representing each planet to the large 'Sun' object.