Pocket Solar System Activity

Pocket Solar System
Make a miniature model of Earth’s neighborhood!

Our Solar System is made up of the Sun and all the smaller objects that
move around it, including eight planets and many dwarf planets, moons,
asteroids, and comets.
Materials Needed:
Paper, ruler, scissors, tape or glue, colored pencils or markers.
Instructions:
Step 1: Cut strips of paper about 7.5 cm
(3 inch) wide. Tape or glue them
together to make a strip one meter
(39 inches) long.
Step 2: Draw the edge of the sun on
one end of the paper, and the Kuiper
Belt at the other end.
Hint: Draw the edge of the sun as close to the
end of the paper as you can. This will make
the following steps easier.
Step 3: Follow the steps on the Folding Instructions sheet to add planets and
asteroids. Try to predict where each one goes!
Look at the What’s in the Solar System? sheet for pictures and descriptions of
each one. For younger children, you can choose to draw all the objects, or
just a few.
Step 4: Try adding in moons orbiting the planets, comets and asteroids
orbiting the sun, or spacecraft exploring the solar system. Be creative!
Note: This model is accurate for distance, but not for size. At this scale, the Sun would be smaller than
a grain of sand, and you would need a magnifying glass to see any of the planets!
Activity adapted from National Informal STEM Education Network:
www.nisenet.org/catalog/exploring-solar-system-pocket-solar-system
Pocket Solar System: Page 2
Think and Discuss:
Were you surprised by the distances
between the planets? Why or why not?
How are the planets similar?
How are they different?
Which place(s) in the Solar System
would you like to visit?
What do YOU want to know about
Image: NASA/JPL.
the Solar System?
Solar System Fun Facts

The Solar System is located in an outer
spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
Our Solar System formed about 4.5 billion
years ago.
Asteroids and comets are leftover pieces
from the formation of the Solar System.
Scientists study these objects to learn more
Artist’s conception of the formation of about the early days of the Solar System.
the Solar System. Image: NASA.
The Sun contains more than 99% of the matter in the Solar System.
NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft so far to leave our
Solar System.
Beyond our own Solar System, we have discovered thousands of planetary
systems orbiting other stars in the Milky Way.
Discover more about the Solar System:

solarsystem.nasa.gov
Pocket Solar System: Folding Instructions
Step 1: Draw the edge of the Sun Step 2: Fold the paper in half.
on one end of the paper, and the Unfold and draw
Kuiper Belt at the other end. the planet Uranus
on the crease.
Step 3: Fold the paper in half, then Step 4: Fold the sun to meet
in half again. Unfold. Saturn. Unfold and draw Jupiter.
Draw Saturn on the crease closest
to the Sun. Draw Neptune on the
crease closest to the Kuiper Belt.
Step 5: Fold the Sun to meet Step 6: Fold the Sun to meet the
Jupiter. Unfold and draw the Asteroid Belt. Unfold and draw
Asteroid Belt. Mars.
Step 7: Fold the Sun to meet Mars. Fold this section in half again. Unfold;
you should have three creases. Draw Mercury on the crease closest to the
Sun, Venus on the next one, and Earth on the one closest to Mars.
Your Solar System is complete!

Note: This model shows the planets lined up; in reality, the
planets are usually scattered around the Sun along their orbits.
What’s in the Solar System?
The solar system is made up of eight planets and many other
objects orbiting the sun. In addition to planets, there are dwarf
planets, moons, comets, asteroids, dust, and gas, all influenced
by the gravity of the Sun.
The Sun (also called Sol) is a star. There are lots of stars, but the Sun is
the closest one to Earth. It is the center of our solar system, and its
gravity holds the solar system together. The Sun's warmth and light
makes life possible on Earth.
Mercury is the closest planet Venus is the hottest planet.

to the Sun. It is the smallest It has a thick atmosphere full
planet in the solar system: of carbon dioxide, and sulfuric
it's only a little bigger than acid clouds. Venus spins in the
Earth's moon. Its surface is opposite direction than Earth
covered in craters. does!
Earth is our home planet. Mars is a cold desert world. It

Water covers 70% of the is half the size of Earth. Mars
surface. The atmosphere has appears red because of rusty
oxygen for us to breathe, and iron in the ground. Mars has
it’s the only planet we know polar ice caps, volcanoes, and
of that supports life. canyons.
The Asteroid Belt is an area between the orbits of

Mars and Jupiter where there are lots of asteroids:
rocky objects that orbit the Sun and are much smaller
than planets. While most asteroids are in the Asteroid
Belt, they are found all over the solar system.
Note: Images are not to scale. Photos and information from NASA.
What’s in the Solar System?
Jupiter is the biggest planet in Saturn is known for its
our solar system. It is a gas beautiful rings, made of
giant, without a solid surface. chunks of ice and rock. Saturn
It has a giant storm called the is very light; it would float in
Great Red Spot. Jupiter has at water (if there was a bathtub
least 79 moons! big enough)!
Uranus is the only planet that Neptune is the most distant

rotates on its side. The planet from the Sun. It is
methane in its atmosphere made of a thick fog of water,
makes it appear blue. Uranus ammonia, and methane over
also has rings, but they are a solid core. It has a thick,
faint and hard to see. windy atmosphere.
The Kuiper (ky-purr) Belt is a ring of icy bodies outside of

Neptune’s orbit. Pluto is the most famous object in the
Kuiper Belt. Pluto is a dwarf planet; these objects are much
smaller than the eight "regular" planets. There are four other
dwarf planets: Ceres, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea. Pluto Haumea
Moons, also known as natural satellites, orbit planets and asteroids. There are
more than 200 moons in our solar system. Moons come in many shapes, sizes
and types.
Comets are balls of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit the Sun. As a
comet gets closer to the Sun, some of the ice starts to melt and boil off,
along with particles of dust. This forms a tail that stretches for millions
of miles.
People have sent many spacecraft to study the solar system. There are
satellites orbiting planets and moons, rovers on the surface of Mars, and
probes flying to the edge of the solar system!
Learn more about the solar system at

spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/solar-system/
Note: Images are not to scale. Photos and information from NASA.

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Pocket Solar System

Make a miniature model of Earth’s neighborhood!

Solar System Fun Facts

Discover more about the Solar System:

Your Solar System is complete!

Mercury is the closest planet Venus is the hottest planet.

Earth is our home planet. Mars is a cold desert world. It

The Asteroid Belt is an area between the orbits of

Uranus is the only planet that Neptune is the most distant

The Kuiper (ky-purr) Belt is a ring of icy bodies outside of

Learn more about the solar system at

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