My Own Project
(All Ages)

After talking to kids about the various planets within our solar system (as well as those outside of it), assign kids the task of imagining their own planet from scratch. You can make this a single day activity or an extended project, depending on the age of your kids and how extensive you’d like it to be.

Start by asking them to close their eyes and imagine a planet they’d like to exist somewhere in the universe. Then pose these questions to get their mind going:

• How close is it to the sun?
• How big is it? What’s its gravity like?
• How many moons does it have? Or is it itself the moon of a much larger planet? What’s in the atmosphere?
• What color does it appear from space?
• Does it support life? If so, what kind? What are these creatures like?
• Does it rotate, and if so, how long are its days? What are the temperature ranges?
• Are there mountains on the planet?
• Is it geologically active?
• What’s the surface like? Is it covered in water, dirt, gas, or lava?
• Does it have any special features?

Once they have a vision of their planet in mind, have them draw or paint a picture of their planet and then write/dictate an essay or short story describing what it is like. Here are some additional extended activities you can include as part of this project if you’d like:

Planetary scenes
Create panoramic pictures of the planet, as if they were standing on its surface in various spots looking out to the horizon.

Planetary maps
Create a globe-like map of this planet outlining oceans, mountain ranges, deserts, forests, major rivers, and other geologic features. If you’d like, you can have kids create a 3-D version of this by papermacheting over a round balloon, using plaster of Paris to give it texture, and then having them paint it to create a 3-dimensional globe for their planet.

Planet history
Have them imagine and write about the history of their planet: How old is it? How did it form? Was it always like this? Has it ever gone through ice ages or other changes? Has it ever collided with another planet or a giant asteroid or comet?

Planet virtues
Write a travel guide or give a demonstration extolling the virtues of their planet, as though they were advertising it to a collection of intergalactic travelers.

Lifeform studies
Have kids draw pictures and create stories about the various lifeforms that inhabit their planet.