Ever wonder why Pluto isn't considered a planet? Or how large the Earth is compared to the other inner planets? Explore the universe with a series of projects that simulate different aspects of our solar system. The activities require...

Did you know that Pluto is smaller than the United States of America? It is difficult to conceptualize the size of planets and the distance between them, and the lesson addresses those exact issues. After a discussion, pupils create...

In 2006, New Horizons began its mission to fly to Pluto. As it continues its journey, scholars track its progress with the help of an informative website, all the while reinforcing measurement concepts with the construction of a scaled...

New Horizons began its journey to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, it continues its mission. In that time, scholars have surely grown, but how much more will they grow by the time New Horizons reaches its destination? Find out with an...

Radio signals transmitted to Pluto take five hours to reach their destination! In these two activities, young scientists explore data communication in space. In activity one, pupils learn how data is gathered and sent back to Earth....

Researchers use scientific data to understand what is inside each of the planets. The first in a series of six, this lesson builds off of that concept by having pupils use a data table to create their own scale models of the interiors of...

Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson...

Does your class know their planets? Implement an activity that has them describing the solar system, identifying properties of the planets, and placing them in order from their distance from the sun.

Earth is 149,600,000 km, or 92,957,130.4 miles, from the sun. Young astronauts create an interactive model to learn the distances between planets. Nine groups, each representing a different planet, are spread around at class-calculated...

Young astronomers follow a step-by-step procedure for dividing a lump of dough into parts, resulting in a scaled volume set of puny planets. Along with the printable directions is a template chart of planet names on which learners can...

Use a variety of whole fruits to represent the different planets in the solar system to introduce scale sizes to your math or space science class. They follow suit by creating a non-scaled model of the solar system using specific-colored...