As a science fair experiment, observe the moon for three months. Chart what you see day and night. Chart changes you observe. Observe with your eyes and through a telescope. Take pictures of the different phases you observe and how the moon appears day and night.
Observe the sun, but do not look directly at it as doing so may cause permanent eye damage. Instead, observe sunlight as it bounces off foil or metal pans and as it passes through glass with and without water. Document the sky conditions, repeating the experiment in full and partial sunshine. Check angles of the sunlight and record the heat generated on objects used. Record if or how the objects absorb or deflect the sunlight. Explain how to observe the sun safely as well as the results of your experiment.
There are different theories about how the solar system began. Research the different theories, focusing on only scientific theories or using religious theories as well. Relate the theories to scientific knowledge of the period in which the theory developed and to present scientific knowledge. Relate religious theories to how the people who developed the theory thought and how those theories might have led to some of the present-day theories. Create models of different theories of the solar system. Show theories with similarities and how knowledge changed theories.
Use different objects as models of the solar system. Document how different objects used for the models change how the solar systems look and work. Figure the distances between the sun, planets and moon. Use balls, balloons, paper plates and cups. Cut out representations from cardboard, Styrofoam or metal. Hang from a dowel rod or hanger. Place on a Styrofoam base. Surround the ball sun with the planets. Show relative distances. Part of the experiment is to show the positives and negatives of the materials used in the solar system models.
Put together an experiment showing how the sun, the center of the solar system, produces heat. Choose several surfaces that heat easily and some that do not. Surfaces might include a sidewalk, the hood of a car, foil, a metal pan, paper--both black and white, cloth and any other surface you wish. Place the items in direct sunlight for several hours. Once the surfaces have absorbed the heat, use the surfaces to cook food such as eggs or cut-up hot dogs. Time the cooking time. Document which surfaces cook the food and which do not. Document which surfaces cook the fastest. Using your notes, show how the sun provides heat for the Earth, a planet of the solar system. Explain how the energy from the sun gives life to the whole system.