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Home Planetarium Offers a Fun Guide to Planets for Kids

It might be hard to believe but there is enough entertainment in the night sky to replace at least some of the time kids spend with Facebook, video games, television and movies. See, I said it would be hard to believe! The stars and planets provide a different type of theater, and they can be explored without the cost of an expensive telescope or an expensive trip to a planetarium.

Of course, if you have access to a great telescope and a clear night sky that is the ultimate thrill. But for a smaller budget or a cloudy night, or just for fun in a cozy indoors environment, kids can take a tour of the solar system with a home planetarium.

A home planetarium is many things. Its most obvious use is as an educational tool. Children (and adults) can learn about the location of stars, planets, and constellations. It is an excellent way to discover the nine planets for kids. However, a home planetarium can also be a place of tranquility and peace, where you can rest in the awe and wonder of how the Lord put all the stars and planets in their perfect places… if only we could get the earth to be so perfect!

A home planetarium can begin with a visit to the library to find out how to make your own. Or you can shop online to buy a new one. At the library, you can find books on stars and constellations, star maps, and even stories about the history of astronomy. Astronomy has many historical roots in Greek tradition, as well as the Middle Ages and the early modern era. You can find books about stars and planets for kids.

The simplest home planetarium can be made out of an old cardboard oatmeal tube. Using a variety of pins and needles, poke holes in the top or bottom of the tube. Use a book or star map as a guide to create constellations, stars, and planets. Turn off all the lights in a small bedroom or bathroom and cover any windows with a heavy curtain. Typically, a bathroom has fewer windows, but you may need to test your planetarium in multiple rooms. Mount a flashlight inside the oatmeal tube. Again, you may have to test your planetarium with different flashlights of differing levels of brightness. It may take a few attempts before you are able to accurately recreate the night skies, but this method costs virtually nothing.

The next step up is to use a low-cost cardboard globe. You will have to cut a hole in the base of the globe. Again, use pins and needles to poke holes in the globe that correspond with stars and planets. Use a flashlight or a flashlight bulb in a darkened room to create light within your planetarium.

With patience, a more accurate planetarium can be created with a metal earth globe. Though you may be able to find one of these globes for a low cost, it will cost more than a cardboard globe. You will need an electric drill with drill bits in a variety of sizes to accurately portray the stars and planets. Using your star maps and a marker, you can label the stars on the globe before you begin drilling. Like the cardboard globe, you will need to cut a hole in the base of the globe where you can mount a flashlight or flashlight bulb in your planetarium. You will need to devote much time and patience to create this planetarium, but it will be durable and you will be able to use it for many years.

A home planetarium can bring the night skies to kids who otherwise might not notice the beauty and wonder that surrounds them. With a little creativity, a darkened bedroom can be filled with stars and planets for kids. It can even provide the catalyst to encourage a child to study astronomy!

About the Author

Joe Kanooga is a father of two kids, a successful business owner and the author of numerous articles about home planetarium kits and many other science kits and educational materials. Click here to download our free planets for kids guidebook filled with helpful tips, ideas and information.

What is the best home ceiling projector planetarium that is not too expensive?

I want to ask for one for Christmas. I found one called Uncle Miltons, but the reviews weren't so great. I saw a couple on Discovery's website, but, again, the reviews weren't too great. I am a high school student studying astronomy, and hopefully pursuing astronomy in college. I want something that looks very real. please tell me the best one. thank you!

"One that looks very real" would require expensive optics, lights, slides, and size. My suggestion would be to ask for a telescope instead, along with some planetarium software that you could load onto a home PC. The night sky is always going to be the best planetarium. The planetarium software will do well to show the skies from various locations, times of year and as they looked in the past and may in the future.

See the planets come out to play
Well, this is surely the month of the planet. Although we start the month with only one planet in our early evening sky, by the end of the month we'll have FOUR and you'll be able to see four planets all at the same time.

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