Here in the smack-dab middle of summer, it’s always a welcomed break from the sweaty outdoors to have a fun, cool nighttime activity. While it’s still nice enough to lay around outside, why not take some time to teach your little ones all about space? Our DIY Planets are so fun and easy to make, that they will never realize that they’re actually learning.
Our solar system is a complex place, but learning about what’s closest and most important to us can be a good starting point for little ones. Of course, we have the moon and the sun, and the next planet closest to us is Mars.
DIY Planets
We chose to just make the moon, the sun, the Earth and Mars to ease into learning more about space. Of course, you can make all of the planets or even use these DIY Planets as the template for a school project. You can also take this DIY a step further and grab some string and a hanger to make a mobile, or hang them throughout your tunnel for a super interactive space adventure!
What You Need
- 4 paper mâché balls – We got ours from Michael’s
- Red, orange, yellow, blue, green, silver, and white tissue paper, cut into 2 in. x 2 in. squares
- 1 jar of mod podge – We got ours from Amazon
- Paintbrush
How You Make It
- Carefully apply the mod podge to paper mâché ball in small sections.
- Place tissue paper over it and smooth over
- Allow 10-15 minutes to dry between layers
Suggested color uses:
- Earth: Apply alternating blue and green tissue paper, or even try using a globe to group the continents in the right place
- Mars: First, apply a layer of red paper then apply a second layer of orange tissue paper
- Sun: First, apply a layer of orange then apply a second layer of yellow
- Moon: First, apply a layer of silver then apply a second layer of white
What You Can Teach with the DIY Planets
Now that you have your DIY Planets, it’s time to start learning! While using your DIY Planets to teach your little ones about these 4 places, use these ideas:
The Moon
The moon might look small and like it doesn’t do much, but it is actually very important to what happens on Earth! According to Planet Facts, the moon helps regulate our tides and climate. Because of its proximity to Earth, the moon exerts a strong gravitational pull on the Earth. It is this gravitational pull that causes the oceans to rise and fall.
In addition, The moon’s gravity has the effect of slowing down the Earth’s rotation. If the Earth’s rotation were faster, then every day would be shorter. Shorter days would result in the temperature on Earth taking a substantial drop because there would be less time for the sun to heat the Earth. That would make it very difficult for plants and food to grow, as well as for life to live very long without the sun.
The Sun
The first fun fact you can teach your children is that the Sun isn’t a planet at all – it’s actually a star! Of course, everyone knows that the sun is what keeps us warm. But that’s not all! NASA says that nothing is more important to us on Earth than the Sun.
Without the Sun’s heat and light, the Earth would be a lifeless ball of ice-coated rock. The Sun warms our seas, stirs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns, and gives energy to the growing green plants that provide the food and oxygen for life on Earth. Simply put: without the Sun, we wouldn’t exist at all.
Mars
We are learning more about Mars every day as NASA and other space explorers gain more and more information about it. But, why Mars and how is it important for us Earthlings? This planet is so important to Earth because, after the Earth, Mars is the most habitable planet in our solar system, according to MarsOne.
Its soil contains water to extract, it isn’t too cold or too hot, there is enough sunlight to use solar panels, the gravity is similar and it has an atmosphere like earth and has about 24 hours in a day – just like us. Simply put, Mars is pretty similar to Earth in a lot of ways, and as we learn more about it, there is a possibility that humans can inhabit it in the future. Wouldn’t it be cool to go on a vacation to Mars?
Glow-in-the-Dark Galaxy 6FT Tunnel
One small step into this tunnel, one giant leap for imaginative play! Let your imagination take you into space with this tunnel and its bright shining stars that GLOW in the dark.
This tunnel makes playing at night a true space experience. It has a fast and easy assembly, making it easy to pop open or fold up closed when you land back to Earth.
The mesh panels make it perfect to drag it outside to stargaze, then wipe it clean with a damp cloth! The foam padding around the spring steel offers extra comfort for those little hands and knees while they’re crawling through space. The connecting lip allows it to attach to an additional tunnel or tent so you can create your own space adventure. The sky’s the limit!
Let Us Know!
Do your kids love learning about planets and the solar system? Did you make the DIY Planets? Let us know in the comments below, or reach out to us on social media!
Looking for more galaxy adventure fun? Check out this post from a while back where we talked about his tunnels companion piece, our Glow-in-the-Dark Galaxy Dome Tent, and made DIY Planet Mobiles for hanging in the tent!