Our Immense Universe

We completed the first major assignment and made a model of the nine planets. (well eight planets and a dwarf planet, but who’s really counting?!) The planets are actually to scale, according to size. We did not include our 12 1/2 foot sun, although we measured it out in the kitchen.

On a whim, we wondered what the distances between the planets would be if we measured them out to scale. I found just such an activity at Astronomy at Home: Science Experiments for the Entire Family. So Thursday evening found us at local hall, unrolling toilet paper rolls to see just how far away Pluto really is.

The kids had a blast. We all had a blast. I’m so very glad we chose to home school, because I can’t imagine doing anything else!