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Cubic Planets

Created: 2024-07-15

Author(s):
Livia Giacomini (INAF), Francesco Aloisi (Speak Science), Federica Duras (INAF), Giulia Mantovani (INAF)

Earth, the happy planet. Mars, the angry guy. Jupiter, the big glutton. Did you ever imagine to build the planets of the Solar System as cubic characters with their own, brilliant personalities? Tailored for individual or team work, this activity allows students to bring the planets to life: they will just need simple materials like scissors, glue, and CDs/DVDs to build their own easy and fun 3D models and learn fascinating facts about their new friends. They will then focus on the true dimensions and distances of the planets, enhancing their understanding of the Solar System but also their curiosity, ability to work in team and love for science.

Materials

Cubic planets to be printed (see attachments)
Scissors and glue
Old CD/DVD (optional)
A ppt presentation to be used to guide the students build the planets (see attachments)
A mobile phone/tablet with an internet connection (not mandatory)

Goals

Have fun getting acquainted with the Sun and planets
Understand that the other planets are other worlds that have similarities and differences with our planet, the Earth

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should have learnt:

the difference between stars and planets and what is a planetary system
the names and the main characteristics of the planets, being able to recognise them
the size and position of the planets in the Solar System.

Background

Our solar system is a vast and fascinating part of the universe which includes the Sun and eight unique planets.

Our star, the Sun, contains almost the entire mass of the solar system and everything that orbits around it.

Each planet has its own characteristics and features.

The first four planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are known as terrestrial planets because they have solid surfaces.
Mercury: The closest planet to the Sun, Mercury, is also the smallest one. It is rocky and characterised by extreme temperatures, due to the fact that its atmosphere is very thin and cannot retain the Sun's heat. For this reason the areas exposed to the Sun are very hot, those in the shade very cold.
Venus: Contrary to Mercury, Venus is known for its thick, toxic atmosphere and scorching heat which makes it the hottest and most luminous planet in the solar system. Venus is similar in size to Earth but very different in other ways.
Earth: Our home planet, Earth, is the only place known to harbour life. It has water, diverse landscapes and a supportive atmosphere.
Mars: The red planet, Mars, is famous for its red colour caused by iron oxide (or rust) on its surface. It has the largest volcano and canyon in the solar system and is a target for many space exploration missions.

Beyond Mars lies the asteroid belt, with rocky celestial objects of different sizes and shapes.

The outermost planets are much larger than the inner ones. They are cold, gaseous (Jupiter and Saturn) and icy (Uranus and Neptune).
Jupiter: The largest planet, Jupiter is a gas giant with a powerful magnetic field and more than one hundred moons. Its immense size and gravity attract many objects, such as asteroids and comets, protecting the inner planets from potential impacts.
Saturn: Famous for its stunning rings made of pieces of ice, dust and rocks, Saturn is another gas giant with a complex system of moons.
Uranus: An ice giant, Uranus has a unique blue-green color due to methane in its atmosphere. It orbits the Sun in a strange way, almost lying on its side, which makes it look like it is tumbling through space.
Neptune: The farthest planet from the Sun, Neptune is known for its deep blue color and the strongest winds in the solar system.

By understanding our Solar System, we gain a better appreciation of the wonders of space and the place of our own planet within it.

If you want to know more:

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System

Full Description

Before activity

Depending on the age of the students, on how much time you want to spend on the activity, and if you want to promote team work, you can organise the activity in different ways:

Each student builds ALL the Cubic Planets, working alone. In this case, for each student you should have a printed copy of the Cubic Planets and all the materials (scissors, glue and 1 CD/DVD) - Duration: about 3 hours
Students work in teams of 4 to 8 students and each group will build a Solar System. In this case you should have the needed materials (scissors, glue and 1 CD/DVD..) and a printed copy of the Cubic Planets for each group. - Duration: about 1 hour

Part 1: learning about the planets

Start introducing the Solar System, the Sun and the planets using the ppt presentation.
For each celestial body, make sure to underline his/her characteristic, making him/her as "human" as possibile, showing an image of the real planet and an image of the Cubic Planet they will build.
IMPORTANT: It is important to specify that the Cubic Planets are made for children, they are cubic to make them easier to build, but real planets and stars are all spherical.
Here is how you can introduce the Sun and planets:
The Sun: the tanned star!
The Sun is the star of the Solar System, it shines light (it is tanned), it is hot, it is MUCH bigger than the planets and it is at the centre of the Solar System.
Mercury has fever
Mercury is very near to the Sun and it doesn't have an atmosphere, no air surrounding it. On Earth, the atmosphere is like a blanket that keeps heat inside. When a planet doesn't have a blanket, it means that some of its parts are very hot, when the Sun shines on them. But some parts are very cold, when they are in the dark. It is like when you have a cold and with fever you are at the same time very hot and very cold!
Venus and her skirt
Venus is the planet of beauty, and it has a very thick atmosphere, a layer of gas that covers its surface which we can't see through. If she could lift her skirt, we would see a planet with a very high temperature, covered with hot volcanos!
Earth, the happy planet!
Our home in the Universe, the only planet with liquid water on the surface, the right temperature and conditions to host life! What a happy place!
Mars, angry guy
Mars is Earth's brother and in the past, it was a bit like our planet, with oceans, water...but then it became very cold, no water, no life. Mars face is red because it has rusted over the years...it looks today as a very angry guy!
Jupiter, the big glutton
Jupiter is the biggest planet of the Solar System and it is made of gas. It captures everything that comes near it: comets, asteroids…It is a big glutton!
Saturn: lord of the rings
Also made of gas, but with beautiful rings made of ice, dust and grains. They shine in the all Solar System!
Uranus, lying on its side
Made of gas, bluish. It also has small rings. But it is not rotating like other planets. It is tumbling, like a wheel. It is like lying on its side!
Neptune: too much wind!
Neptune is a planet made of gas as well, but on its surface winds can reach speeds up to 2,400 kilometers per hour. It is about 200 times the highest speed you can reach with your Dad's car!

Part 2: building the cubic planets

If needed, ask the students to glue the printed planets on cardboard to make the Cubic Planets more resistant (or use to sheets of standard paper glued together). Wait until the papers are dry.

Image 2

For all Cubic Planets (including Saturn): ask the students to cut the planets along the external lines. See Image 3.

Image 3

For all Cubic Planets (including Saturn): ask the students to fold all the flaps. See Image 3a and 3b.

Image 3a

Image 3b

For all planets (except Saturn) and the Sun: ask the students to fold them in a cube, gluing the tabs to build the planets.
Start from the flaps with the number 1, then proceed with the flap with number 2.
See Image 4a and 4b.

Image 4a

Image 4b

Instead of gluing the flaps with number 3, put glue directly on the edge of the cover flap and place it on the flaps with number 3. This way it will stick perfectly.
See Image 4c

Image 4c

For Saturn: build the two half cubes of paper Saturn1 and Saturn 2 just as for the other planet. When you have built them, put the CD between the two and glue the planet. See Image 5a.

Image 5a

Alternative way to build Saturn: if you don't have a CD/DVD, you can print the page with the rings, fold it along the line and glue it. Then you can cut the rings and use them instead od the CD/DVD. See Image 5b

Image 5b

Part 3: putting the Solar System in shape

To complete the activity and learn about the relative sizes of the planets, their orbits and real distance from the Sun, you can ask the students to use the cubic planets to build a Solar System on the teacher's desk or on the ground. You will use the images in the final slides of the presentation (Image 6, Image 7 and Image 8) to show the students some main concepts.

Ask the students to first place the Sun and the planets on the desk or on the ground in a random order and tell them that there are two major mistakes in the planets they have made. Can you guess the mistakes? The first one is the fact that planets are spheres and not cubes. We made them as cubes to make the building process easier. The second mistake is the size of the planets: we made them all the same size, but some of them are much, much bigger than the others, in reality. And the Sun is much, much bigger than all of them. To show them the real relative sizes of the planets and the Sun you can show Image 6 (also in the presentation).

Image 6: the relative sizes of the Sun and the planets

Now you can ask the students to put the Sun at the center of the Solar System and the planets orbiting around it in the right order (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune). To make sure they follow the right order you can show them Image 7 below (also in the ppt presentation).

Image 7: the order of planets in the Solar System

(Optional) You can then tell the students that again, we made a third mistake, can they guess which? You can then explain to them that the planets are very, very far from the Sun in reality and that the model they have made is not "to scale". If they want to know how far the planets orbit from the Sun, they can make another activity: link to other activities in astroEDU.