The interest of children in space and the structure of the solar system is not as widespread as before. But each parent has to explain to his child the principles of planetary motion around the stars. The easiest way to do this is using the Solar System hack. This model can be built with your own hands. Engage in its creation together with your baby to study the structure of planets together and to understand the basics of astronomy.
DIY "Planets of the Solar System" do it yourself
The easiest way to make such a model is using plasticine. The child himself can choose certain colors of this material and mix them to shape this or that planet. Try to open a star atlas with your children and look at the real sizes of celestial bodies, comparing them with the Sun. Explain the difference between the terrestrial planets and the gas giants.
Explain to the children that the display of the solar system in the craft will be conditional. In fact, large and planets are very different from each other. Read about the different types of cosmic bodies and discuss their main features. Pay attention of the child to the Earth, find pictures with its real form. Think together why our planet is not round, but more like an apple of irregular shape and try to mold it with plasticine together with the children. Balls can also be dumped from felt. But then you need to stock up on finger protection so that the child does not get hurt when working with a sharp needle.
Craft using foam balls
The crafts with the planets of the solar system can be designed in different ways: hang on a fishing line and attach to a hanger or place blanks on thin barbecue sticks, connecting them with a star in the center. Celestial bodies themselves are often made of foam blanks, because such material is convenient to use and shape. The foam ball is lightweight, it is easy to paint it in any color if you use acrylic, and the workpieces are easy to fasten together. The easiest way to do the craft "Solar System" in the form of a mobile.
Necessary materials:
- foam balls of different sizes,
- a long piece of wire or thick wire,
- pencil,
- cardboard,
- PVA glue,
- fishing line
- hook,
- acrylic paints,
- brush,
- scissors.
It may take several days to create the product, since the workpieces must be well dried after painting. Before starting work, lay out all the foam balls in size: each of them must correspond to a particular planet. Make notes on the blanks for the craft "Solar System" with a pencil, so as not to get confused where is which celestial body.
How to color blanks
Use acrylic paints to stain blanks. The sun should be the largest. To create the effect of "spots" on it, sprinkle the surface with red, orange and yellow paint. You can use a brush and mix several shades directly on the ball or pour paint on a paper plate and dip the workpiece into it, strung on a toothpick. Keep experimenting until you paint all the planets. Make cardboard rings for Saturn and glue them dried to the workpiece.
Another option for creating planets
An even simpler way to make the Solar System hack is to use papier-mâché technique. For work you will need:
- regular balloons
- three-layer napkins,
- paints and brush
- threads
- needle,
- PVA glue.
Napkins need to be divided into layers and finely torn. Ball - inflate to the desired size and tie with threads to give a spherical shape, and then stick several layers of napkins, drying each of them before applying the next. When the workpiece dries, pierce the rubber ball with a needle and remove it. You can make planets out of threads using the same technique. To do this, you need floss or cotton yarn. Coat the balloon with glue and wind the threads on it in a chaotic manner, and then let it dry by hanging it on a clip or clothespin. Remove the ball by piercing it.
Product assembly
When the paint is dry, take barbecue sticks or long knitting needles to pierce the workpieces through. Pass the fishing line through the holes and secure it. Bend the thick wire into a spiral and attach planets to it one after another, changing their height. Then cut four more pieces of fishing line and attach it so that all the parts are balanced and hung evenly. Connect the pieces and thread them into a hook or other fixture to hang the finished mobile from the ceiling. Do-it-yourself DIY craft "Solar System" is ready!
Balls can also be mounted on ordinary knitting needles or wire, connecting to the center, but then the product can not be suspended. Sometimes, instead of a wire, they use an ordinary plastic or metal hanger, tying a fishing line with planets to its lower part. Add labels to the celestial bodies with names or various facts about them. If you use paint glowing in the dark, then the mobile will become more and more attractive for the child.