Four of the eight planets have undergone geologic processes that affect their interior composition and appearance. Identify and research the terrestrial planets and find out if and how they were affected by chemical and mechanical weathering; erosion by water, wind, ice or gravity; deposition/landforms; volcanism; impact cratering; and tectonics. Include this information and color pictures of the terrestrial planets in your display.
Research how craters are formed and make some yourself. Cover the bottom of a large box 2 inches deep with flour and gently shake the box to level out the flour. Measure the diameter of three objects: a marble, a small ball and an apple. Hold one of the objects with your arm extended straight out in front of you and drop it into the flour. Carefully take it out and measure the diameter of the “crater.” Level the flour before dropping the next object. Run three trials with each object and find the average diameter of crater for each object. Let visitors to your display make craters with different objects.
Identify the gas planets and find out what they are made of. These planets are also called the gas giants because they are all significantly larger than the terrestrial planets. Research other ways gas planets differ from terrestrial planets. Include this information along with color pictures of each of these planets in your display.
Make a scale model of the planets and their distance from each other and the sun. Ideally, use an area 100 yards long and 8 feet wide, such as a football field or large parking lot. If you need to use a smaller area, adjust the scale accordingly. Cut out circles for each planet, or you can make clay balls or photocopy color pictures to scale. Use the following scale for size in diameter and placement in distance from the sun: sun 85 inches diameter/place at the start of the display; Mercury .3 inches/1 yard; Venus .7 inches/1.9 yards; Earth .8 inches/2.5 yards; Mars .4 inches/3.8 yards; Jupiter 8.5 inches/13.1 yards; Saturn 7.1 inches/24.2 yards; Uranus 2.9 inches/48.4 yards; Neptune 2.8 inches/76.1 yards; and if you want to include the dwarf planet Pluto, .2 inches/100 yards.
Each planet has a different amount of gravitational attraction. Use the following information on how the other planets compare to Earth and help visitors to your display find out what the scale would read if they were on other planets. Have a calculator handy and tell them to multiply their Earth weight by the following: Mercury (0.4), Venus (0.9), Mars (0.4), Jupiter (2.5), Saturn (1.1), Uranus (0.8), Neptune (1.2) and if you want to add the dwarf planet Pluto, (0.01).