Students will construct scale models using common materials and compare their models to the scaled size of the Earth. Each activity is designed to aid students in understanding the nature of the Solar System, and is in line with National Science Education Standards. Each can also be used to fulfill Mathematics Education Standards. All three activities include teacher instructions and, in some cases, student handouts. The Scale Model Solar System activity has a scale of 1 to 10 billion in both size and distance, and is based on the scale of the Colorado Scale Model Solar System on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Students choose objects to represent each planet from a selection provided by their teacher.
A grapefruit is used to represent the Sun. A Scale Model Comet activity is provided on two scales, one to match the Scale Model Solar System, and one on a scale of 1 to 6 billion. This link was provided by the author.