Fun & Simple Solar System Projects for Students

Kids love learning about the night sky, outer space and planets. If you are studying astronomy in your homeschool you may want to do a solar system unit with lots of hands-on activities and projects. Assigning your kids a solar system project is a great way to get them excited about science. 

Solar System Projects

It doesn’t matter how old your children are, kids love learning about outer space and famous astronauts. These fun solar system projects are great for all ages. There are different ways you can modify these projects of the solar system if you have younger children, or your older children can work with their siblings.

There are lots of fun projects to choose from that would be easy for the whole family work on together while you are learning about the solar system. You can incorporate these project ideas alongside solar system worksheets for a full study. 

How do you make a homemade solar system project?

Step-by-Step Directions for an Easy Solar System Project

• First, get a piece of cardboard, shoe box, or poster board and paint it black. You can use spray paint or craft acrylic paint.
• Add white paint or glow in the dark stars for the background.
• Next, gather up the balls that you will use for the planets. These need to be different sizes. You can use Styrofoam balls, or if you have a craft stash grab some of your own pom-pom balls in various colors and shapes. 
• You will need one large ball for the sun. This can be a giant yellow pom-pom or paint it yellow.
• Two medium balls to make Jupiter and Saturn and a piece of cardstock to make the ring.
• Two small balls to make Uranus and Neptune 
• Three small balls for Mercury, Earth and Venus.
• Look up the different colors of the planets and have your children paint them the colors that are similar. 
• You can string the balls and hang them from the inside of a shoebox, or you can make solar system posters with black poster board and glue them to it. Additionally, you can also use toothpicks and stick them to a base, as shown below. 

Paint a Solar System Model

You could also buy an inexpensive solar system model that you can paint and put together. This model can be put together by your student independently. It shows the order of the planets from the sun. Additionally, you can watch the planets rotate around the sun. It’s a fun and easy solar system project for under $10 with no additional supplies needed. 

What are solar system topics?

If you have older children you may want them to choose a specific solar system topic to research for a writing assignment. Students can write about what they have learned and keep it in an astronomy notebook, or write a full essay or research paper.

Some solar system topics for reports and essays are:

• Moons in the Solar System
• Planetary Rings
• Colonizing Mars
• The Outer Solar System and Space Exploration
• Solar System and Smaller Inner Planets
• How the Sun Produces Light and Heat
• The Science Behind Black Holes
• Earth Compared With The Planets Of The Solar System
• Facts About The Solar System
• How Asteroids and Comets Effect the Solar System

Solar System Projects

There are lots of fun ideas and projects to learn about the solar system for kids. When they are building their solar system science projects they will gain knowledge of the solar system at the same time.

Lego Solar System

A creative way to build a solar system is by using Lego bricks. Legos are fun for all ages, and everyone is going to love creating their own solar system with Legos and playing with it when they are done.

Solar System Model in a Jar 

Make a model of the solar system in a jar with air dry clay, paint and fishing line. The finished product will look so cute in a school room or on a table as a decoration.

Fruit Solar System

Compare the size of the different planets by making a solar system out of fruit. This fun activity will give your kids an idea of the scale of the planets.

Easy Solar System Model

Create a model of the solar system with printable coloring pages. This easy project will teach your kids how the planets move around our solar system.

Solar System Projects for Kids

These projects on the solar system are not only easy, but some can be eaten! You can even make a solar system map.

Solar System Sugar Cookies

Enjoy learning about the solar system while making these delicious solar system sugar cookies. The best part of this project is eating the solar system when you are finished.

 Solar System Cootie Catcher Activity

A printable cootie catcher with solar system fact cards is a fun way to teach your kids about the solar system.

DIY Solar System Map

Create a large felt map of the solar system that also acts as a play mat. Making a DIY solar system floor map is a great way to engage your little ones with hands-on learning.

Play Doh Solar System

Making a solar system out of play doh is an easy way to include younger kids in your science studies. Have them choose the right colors and shape and mold the play doh into planet sized balls to place on foil or black poster board.

Solar System Activities for Kids 

Learning about the solar system doesn’t need to be boring! You can incorporate hands-on activities and solar system projects to make it more fun. 

Solar System Bead Activity

Create a scale model of the solar system using beads and string. The colorful beads will represent the planets and when you swing the string you will see the planets in orbit.

Make Galaxy Slime

Kids love making slime. When you are learning about the solar system you are also learning about the galaxy. Your kids will enjoy this fun sensory galaxy slime activity perfect for a space or solar system unit.

Planet Earth Pudding Cups

These earth pudding cups are a fun activity to learn and snack at the same time!

Solar System Sensory Play

A solar system themed sensory bin will keep your little ones engaged during science time. They will have fun playing with the printable astronauts, rocket ships and the different planets found in our solar system. 

Solar System Experiments

Kids love to do fun science experiments, so why not learn more the solar system through experiments?

What Makes the Rings of Saturn?

Saturn is such a unique planet because of its rings. Do you know why it has rings? Find out what makes up the rings of Saturn by investigating how different types of particles can become the rings.

Create a Solar System Scroll

With this activity, students will predict the scale of our solar system and the distance between planets by drawing the planets on a long sheet of paper and measuring the distance. They will then check their answers using fractions. This experiment is best for grades 5-8.

Sun Science Experiment

The sun a powerful star in the center of our solar system. Learn about how powerful it really is by setting up a sun science experiment to melt chocolate.

Candy Solar System Engineering Challenge

Creating a solar system out of candy is a fun engineering challenge that all ages will love. This child led activity will keep your kids engaged and excited about what they are learning. 

Solar System Crafts

Add in some galaxy grafts and even make a solar system model with buttons or paper plates with these easy solar system crafts. 

Galaxy Egg Planets

Use some hard boiled eggs to created egg shaped galaxy planets. Your kids will have fun mixing black paint with a different color and sparkles to create the galaxy from our solar system.

Felt Solar System

Creating a felt solar system is such a fun handicraft idea. It is also an easy way to have your kids practice hand sewing. The felt is easy to sew and felt planets are soft and fun for little ones to play with.

Solar System with Button Planets

Do you have extra buttons laying around? Create a solar system out of buttons and a circle placemat or plastic canvas. Kids can practice their hand sewing skills while placing the buttons.

Paper Plate Solar System

This is such an easy craft to learn about the solar system. Print out the planet in color, or have your children color them, then glue them to a sturdy paper plate to make a paper plate solar system. 

Solar System Project Ideas

You might be wondering what are some solar system project ideas? If you are doing an astronomy unit study in your homeschool you may be looking for some Solar System Projects for kids to create their very own solar system.

A great solar system project that my kids loved was building a LEGO solar system completely out of Legos. Other solar system activities may include building their own model out of Styrofoam balls and making a solar system mobile for an adorable solar system craft.

10 Facts About the Solar System

• Saturn’s rings are made up of 90% water.
• The Solar System is a group of celestial bodies in the Milky Way galaxy.
• The sun is 93 million miles away from the Earth.
• All planets in the solar system and the sun are shaped like balls.
• Jupiter is the largest planet. It is so large that all of the planets can fit inside of it.
• Pluto is no longer a named planet in the solar system because it is a dwarf planet.
• Jupiter is a giant gas planet, and Earth is made of rock.
• Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system.
• Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system and called an ice giant. 
• The largest volcano in our solar system is called Olympus Mons, and it is on the planet Mars.

Why is it called the solar system?

There are many different planetary systems in the universe. Our solar system is named after the sun. The Latin word for sun is ‘Sol’.

Anything that is related to the word sun is called solar. Since the sun is the only star in the solar system, that is where the name comes from.

What is the solar system made of?

The solar system is made up of 8 planets and our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity.

These are the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets such as Pluto, over 200 moons, asteroids, comets and meteroids. The solar system also includes the Kuiper Belt.

Free Solar System Worksheets for Students

In Conclusion:

Learning about the solar system is an integral part of studying astronomy. You and your kids will create a lot of memories and learn so much with these hands-on projects and activities.