There are eight known planets that orbit the Sun, including the Earth. Making a model is a fun way to get started with our solar system and also a good design for an elementary school science course. The one described in this article takes a few hours to work, but it mostly involves waiting for the paint or clay to dry.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Realizing the Sun and the Gas Giants
Step 1. Get a cardboard box
The planets of the model will hang inside the box and you must have eight of them, plus the Sun; So make sure there is enough space. Your best bet is a large men's shoe box that typically measures 36x25x13cm.
Step 2. Paint the box black
Cover the inside and the inside short sides with black acrylic paint; place the box on a sheet of newspaper and wait for it to dry.
To get an even more even background, trace the outline of the box on a sheet of black paper, cut out the rectangle and tape it to the base of the container
Step 3. Gather five Styrofoam balls
If possible, make sure they are three different sizes; they should all fit in the box leaving some space, even if you don't have to line them up. You need:
- A large sphere to make the Sun (maximum diameter 10 cm);
- Two medium spheres for Jupiter and Saturn (7.5 cm in maximum diameter);
- Two small spheres for Uranus and Neptune (5 cm in diameter).
Step 4. Choose paints
Acrylic ones are the best solution, since the others can melt the polystyrene. Choose many different colors to paint the planets, including orange or gold, yellow, red, white and dark blue.
If you are concerned that the paints you have are not suitable for polystyrene, read the instructions for cleaning brushes. If you can use plain water, it means that the color is water based and therefore will be safe on this material; if you need a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, the paint you have chosen may dissolve the Styrofoam
Step 5. Color the Sun
Insert a long skewer into the larger sphere to hold it in place. Paint the entire surface with gold, yellow or orange. Insert the skewer into a tall pitcher or Styrofoam block and wait for the ball to dry.
- You can use a stencil or short-bristled brush to reach all the crevices and grooves on the surface of the material. You should wait until the first coat is dry and then use a larger brush to apply an even coat of color.
- If the paint does not adhere, cover the sphere with a thin layer of putty, wait for it to dry and color it.
Step 6. Paint the big planets the same way
The two medium-sized spheres are the larger planets, Jupiter and Saturn, which are called the gas giants. Their diameter is ten times that of the Earth and they are mostly made up of a heavy layer of gas that hides a rocky core. Slip the balls into the skewers and place them in individual jugs or on the Styrofoam block, so that the painted surfaces do not touch.
- Jupiter's clouds form bands and spiral storms; use red, orange and white for this planet by distributing the colors in a vortex.
- Saturn has a pale yellow color (a mixture of yellow and white paint).
Step 7. Deal with the frozen giants
The last two spheres represent Neptune and Uranus, the two smaller gas giants or otherwise called "frozen giants". They are four times larger in diameter than the Earth and were formed from ice spheres and heavy elements. Later, these materials morphed into a fluid core surrounded by a spiraling layer of gas.
- Color Uranus with a pale blue made by mixing white with blue; sometimes, white clouds form over the solid blue atmosphere.
- Neptune is almost the same color as Uranus, but it is darker because it is further away and receives less light; for this planet use blue.
Step 8. Add the rings to Saturn
Take a glass whose opening has the same diameter as the sphere you used for Saturn; place it on a golden or yellow card and trace the outline with a pencil. To make a ring, place another glass slightly larger over the circumference with a pencil and draw a concentric one. Cut out the ring, glue it around the planet and wait for the sticker to dry.
To cut out the ring, start at the largest circumference, gently fold the disc in half without deforming it and then cut along the smaller circle
Part 2 of 3: Making the Telluric Planets
Step 1. Model the clay to make five rocky planets
You can use plasticine, polymer clay, or make a homemade replacement product. Make five spheres with a maximum diameter of 2.5 cm using material of different colors:
- Mercury has a gray-brown color and is cloudless; you can make it with gold or red plasticine to get a visually appealing model;
- For now, model some blue clay for the Earth;
- Venus must be pale yellow;
- Pluto isn't technically a planet (it's too small), but you can still place it in the solar system. Use light brown clay, perhaps adding charcoal to reproduce the mottled surface.
Step 2. Drill a hole through each sphere
Use a large needle to pierce each telluric planet in the center. Afterward, you will need to thread a string to hang the planets in the box.
When dealing with Saturn, make the hole have a diagonal direction, so that the rings are inclined when you hang the planet; this detail makes the model more beautiful to look at and frees up some space to arrange the other elements
Step 3. Wait for the clay to harden
Follow the instructions on the package to know the drying times and methods; generally, the plasticine dries by itself while the other polymeric materials must be placed in the oven at a low temperature.
For light clay you should set the oven at about 5 ° C lower than the temperature indicated on the package; in this way, the times are doubled but you reduce the chances of the sphere breaking
Step 4. Color the continents on Earth once the clay has become hard
For this step, use green acrylic paint.
Part 3 of 3: Assemble the Model
Step 1. Color the stars
When the black background inside the box has dried, you can use a white marker or brush to add white dots.
Step 2. Insert the Styrofoam balls
When the sun is dry, pierce it entirely with the skewer and then remove it. Attach a segment of beading wire to the end of the stick using masking tape and push it back through the same hole. Repeat the procedure for all the polystyrene balls.
Each segment of wire must be long enough for the planets to hang from the "ceiling" of the box; 13-15 cm long pieces should be sufficient
Step 3. Glue the thread
Hold the head and take out the skewer; make two or three knots on themselves and fix them on the ball with a drop of hot glue.
Step 4. Switch to the plasticine planets
When they are dry and hardened, insert the beading wire into the holes you drilled earlier; block the garments with hot glue, just like you did with the polystyrene ones.
Step 5. Arrange the planets in the box
Lay the latter on its side and keep the wires close to the ceiling of the container. Distribute the balls alternately, so that they can all fit in the box. You should follow this order:
- Sun;
- Mercury;
- Venus;
- Land;
- Mars;
- Jupiter;
- Saturn;
- Uranus;
- Neptune;
- Pluto.
Step 6. Hang the planets in the box
When you have found the arrangement that satisfies you and that allows you to fit all the spheres in the container, trace the 10 points to which to fix the threads. Drill a hole in the box at these marks using a sharp knife and thread the wires through the openings so that the planets dangle. Tape the end of each strand and cut off the excess.
Step 7. Cover the box with black paper
Trace the edge of the container on a sheet of black paper and cut out the rectangle; then glue it on top of the box to hide the masking tape. At this point, you can display the model.
