STEAM-Solar System Braclets

I especially loved this program because children of all ages were excited about learning about the solar system. Everyone was engaged and focused on creating the solar system in bracelet form.

Having seen a solar system bracelet activity on the NASA website, I modified it by adding a demonstration of the distance between planets measured in steps. The name of the planet was written on the front and the miles from the sun were written on the back. I asked them where they think the first planet should be as you walk from the sun. After measuring out 24 feet for the planet, mercury, we continued this pattern until we ran out of space. I asked them how much farther they think the other planets will be. We discussed that Pluto is a dwarf planet and it is so far away that if they traveled to Uranus they would only be halfway there!

I also had a model of the solar system to share with everyone. I reminded them that scale models help demonstrate large scale in a smaller size.