The Summer Space Project - Marble Planets

Following on with our Summer Space project  we have been learning about the Moon and also about our neighbour planet Venus.

It was really interesting learning about our neighbour planet that we wanted to explore the other planets in our solar system. We would, of course, have wanted to cover each planet individually but that would have been quite time consuming; instead I decided that we would create our solar system and cover a few different facts about each planet.

Each planet is quite easy to recognise according to the colour. In some cases there are some subtle differences but colour is key. I originally wanted to paint directly to circular discs  but where is the fun in that?

I decided then to make a marble effect using foam and paint to hopefully cover the glossy image that planets have!

Materials

White card circles

Acrylic paint

Shaving Foam

Paint Brush

Black Card (Optional)

Baking tray/Tin

Spatula

Method

We started off by spraying shaving foam into a baking tray and then used a spatula to even it out so it is the same thickness.

We started off by choosing the colours of the first planet. We then used the acrylic paint and squeezed some on top of the shaving foam.

Using the handle end of a paint brush we scored lines through the paint and shaving foam to create a marble imprint.

We then carefully placed the card disc onto the paint and shaving foam mix and gently pressed it down.

After carefully pulling it off we used a paint brush to spread the combination mix. In doing so we wiped the excess mix off.

We then used the spatula to even the mix out again and added more paint to change the colour to match the planet that we were planning on making.

The only time we changed this was with the blue based planets where we cleared the foam and started again so the colours didn't mix too much.

Repeat this whole process until you have all of the planets.

Once completed leave the marble planets to dry. As you can see in the above photos that it is possible to recreate all the different planets and colours.

Whilst the planets were drying we decided to make a centre piece of our solar system and recreate a pastel sun!

By sticking 4 pieces of A3 paper together and drawing a large circle we started colouring with yellow, orange and red pastels.

With the colours added we then blended with cotton wool.

With the sun made and cut out and the marble planets it was time to place the planets in order!

By using a simple mnemonic (A sentence that creates a memory aid for spelling and order) of My Very Eager Mum Just Served Us Noodles allows an easy way to remember the order of the planets.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn Uranus and Neptune can then be placed in the correct order.

We placed the sun down and then muddled up the planets. We recapped on the planets and their colour and finally went over the mnemonic to then line them all up.

Overall this whole activity makes a great craft activity as well as an educational lesson.

The marble effect works perfectly and really makes a clear colour design for each planet and to top it off it is messy and fun for all primary aged children!

The black card mentioned above is perfect for additional presentation. You could stick the planet to the card and use chalk or glitter to create stars around it!

What do you think? Would you give this a go?

Do you have other ways to remember the order of the planets!