If you have been wanting to do a fun activity for your kids that can also serve as a little bit of a learning lesson, then look no further than the solar system! There are tons of ways to make a solar system with your young kids as a fun, interactive way to learn the planets. You can make them as simple or as complicated as you want to! Here are a few of the tried and true ways of creating the solar system.
Paper Planets
Usually the most traditional, making the solar system out of paper is typically the fastest and cheapest way to create! You can use regular white paper to cut out the planets, and have your children color them to represent the right planet. Or you can buy construction paper and have them pick out the right colors and sizes for each planet. And of course, you can always hang them up with string afterwards! You can make it a little more involved by making Paper Mache planets too. Have your children help you shape the planets and let them have fun coloring and decorating once the Paper Mache has dried.
Earthly Planets
For a little more variety but still keeping it simple, you can use rocks and paint to make the planets. Find some flat sided rocks that would work well, and have your children paint the planets directly on the rocks. You can even display them in your front yard or garden once they are done! You can also get some play dough or clay to make real orbs. Let your children roll out the round planets according to size, and help them paint the clay if they wish.
Edible Planets
There are a few ways of going about making an edible solar system with your kids. You can make cookies in the size and shape of the planets, bake and then allow to cool. Your children can then decorate with frosting and other edible goodies for some of the smaller details, like Saturn’s rings. You can use pre-made cookie dough and just re-size the pre-made dollops, or mix from scratch.
You can also bake a cake or brownies in a 9”X13” baking pan and allow to cool. Frost the brownies with dark frosting, and then use smaller edible goodies as the planets. You can use M&Ms for some of the planets, and a blonde Oreo or a stretched out yellow Starburst candy for the Sun. You can use white sprinkles to represent the stars, and even use Twizzlers to make black holes! Line up all the goodies with the sun on one end, and all the other planets leading from it.
Katie Kyzivat