I'm in 8th grade and need help on a solar system project-no kits or styrofoam balls please?

Question

I need to make a solar system project, i cant use a kit, and don't want to use styrofoam balls. I want something really original, but not tooooo expensive! Any tips, They have to kind of be close in scaling but not really. I have the box from a plasma screen TV my family just bought, so I should have plenty of space to work with.

Please Help!!!!!!

Answer 1

How about cutting out the correct scale of the sun and the planets in the correct scale distance from one another from a large sheet of foam board, covering the holes with acetate from the office supply store in appropriate colors and using a strong light source behind it to project it onto a wall so it would appear as if you were viewing the solar system from above?

Answer 2

Do you have any balls around the house? I mean like bouncy balls and super balls. You can usually find them in a variety of sizes and colors. If you can't find the right colors, paint the balls. Wire coat hangers can be used to hang the balls up and hey since Pluto isn't a planet anymore, you only need nine larger balls.

The reason for the bouncy and super balls is that accidents can happen in class. Paper mache or ballons are rather fragile and you have to watch out for that one creep in class who will "accidentally bump" your project and destroy it.

Answer 3

first you may find these web sites usefull
fards.com
kidsastronomy.com

you could use balloons and make paper mache balls and use acrilic paints to make the 3D for your diagram and perhaps use glow in the dark paint for the inside of the box for the stars, and have different holes for different perspectives of the universe. View from the sun, view from above, and the traditional view from the the sides.
Great luck, an A+ and Blessings!

Answer 4

I'm most familiar with polymer clay, but there are loads of things you could make a "really original" solar system with, aside from just making the planets from various clays .

So pick a topic... maybe just one you happen to like ...or maybe one that has to do with astronomy, or with some aspect of science, or with something else "significant" in some way).

For example, you could make the planets/moons from food... using various roundish fruits/veggies... or candies or snack foods, or popcorn balls, etc.... they could be single items, or you could glue together small ones to make larger balls, etc.

Or make a Halloween themed one, using colors and items that might be found around that time of year.
Or make a Christimas one with various Christmas balls and trims (some of those two-part plastic balls could have wadded stuff inside or other coloration, or you could pour paint into empty clear glass xmas bulb balls to create striations, etc.... in fact, that's a fairly good idea... here's one lesson:
http://www.deltacrafts.com/projects/seasonal/ceramcoat/marbelousornaments.asp

Or make a sports or toy-related one, with various kinds of toys, and/or balloons (including maybe a few balls of different types, from ping pong ball to Nerf or whiffle, etc.)

Or make them only from hardware items, or from scrunched aluminum foil, etc.

Or use a Star Wars theme, or a bug theme, etc., etc.

Or make a miniature one from beads of different sizes.

Any of these could be painted or otherwise colored (decoupage, wrapped with colored tape, etc.)

You could also be creative about the "strings or wires that hold the planets in place, or the way they're hung maybe making them as a mobile.

You could also make them as flat (front-view only, not 3-D) representations too, which opens up a whole new world.


HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 5

Clay might be your best bet. You can usually purchase blocks of clay rather cheaply at a craft/hobby store or perhaps even the internet.

Answer 6

You could try paper mache.

http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/how_to_paper_mache.htm

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/papermache/a/051500pm.htm

Whatver you decide to use, good luck!