A FRUITY SOLAR SYSTEM (4-6 years)

Task: Use common fruits to highlight the different sizes of the planets, relative to each other

This activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, helps children grasp the various sizes of planets in our Solar System using common fruits. Encourage your child to take an educated guess as to which planet each piece of fruit represents.

Fruit required

Use the picture above as a reference for the size of fruit to look for.

GAS GIANTS

JUPITER	- 1 Watermelon
SATURN	- 1 large grapefruit
URANUS	- 1 large apple
NEPTUNE	- 1 orange (slightly smaller than an apple)

ROCKY PLANETS

EARTH	- 1 cherry tomato
VENUS	- 1 cherry tomato
MARS	- 1 blueberry
MERCURY	- 1 peppercorn

Questions to ask:

1. Out of all the things in our Solar System what do you think is the biggest?

Answer: The Sun as it is a star and dwarfs all the planets.  The Sun is 10 times larger than the largest of the planets, Jupiter.

2. How many planets are there in the Solar System?

Answer: Eight. Ask them to name all the planets.

3. There are two different categories of planets in our Solar System: the four rocky or terrestrial planets and the four gas giants. All the pieces of fruit are solid – is this accurate for all the planets in our Solar System?

Answer: No. The gas giants are mostly made of gases

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