Have you ever wondered just how big space really is? It’s huge. In fact, it’s astronomical!
A great way to learn about the space is to take a tour of a scale model of our solar system. Big Kid Science founder and author Jeffrey Bennett helped create the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which is now being replicated in many communities across the country, including as a recent update to the Colorado Scale Model Solar System on the University of Colorado Campus in Boulder.
The Voyage model depicts the Sun, the planets, and the distances between them all on the same scale of 1 to 10 billion. That is, the real objects and distances are 10 billion times larger than the objects and distances in the model. On this scale, Sun is about the size of a large grapefruit, while Earth is the size of the ball point in a pen. It’s 15 big steps (15 meters) from the Sun to Earth, about 75 big steps (75 meters) to marble-size Jupiter, and less than a half-mile walk to Pluto, the most distant object shown in the model.
Click here to take a Virtual Tour of the Voyage model. Start at the Sun, then click on the planet images along the left side to choose where to go next. (The tour is a little out of date; we hope to update it soon.)
If you are using the virtual tour while taking an actual tour, be sure to try the suggested activities. Note: The virtual tour uses the map of the Voyage model in Washington, D.C., but since the scale is the same for all Voyage models, you can use the same tour with all of them.
You can also watch Dr. Bennett lead a video tour of the Voyage model in Memphis, TN; just click the links along the left side of the page to see each portion of the video tour.