I’m a bit of a science nerd. By that, I don’t mean I’m good at science because I’m certainly not. However I’m certainly fascinated by specific sectors within the scientific community, especially anything on outer space and the universe. There is still so much to learn and so much that we don’t know about the universe that, to me, each finding is incredible.
I will binge on a Discovery Channel series about the universe the way most people binge on Netflix. Now my daughter has started to watch the shows with me too and is always in awe of the photographs of the planets, stars and black holes.
Before we had children, I bought my husband a telescope because he said he wanted to be able to show our kids the stars. We’ve now used it a couple of times with my daughter to show her anything cool that might be happening up there and get a closer look at the moon.
With the recent NASA discovery of the seven new planets orbiting in the habitable zone of a star in a solar system about 40 light years away, I was geeking out and I wanted a way to explain it to my daughter.
I wanted something that would be fun for her and I to do and still really look like the images we might see of the planets. I decided to make Slime Planet Sun Catchers. Check out the easy instructions below and get double the fun out of this project by creating slime too!
To make the planets you will just need plastic lids, fishing wire and slime. You can find our Neon Slime recipe (featured below) here.
Once the slime is done, you can start on the planets. We made three planets and one “sun.” It was a good way to discuss how all the planets revolve around the sun and how each solar system in the universe has a sun.
Since my daughter is only about 4, there were more questions about different solar systems at that point. I love how curious she is! So we were also able to talk about how the planets in different solar systems will all look different from our planet. Because all planets look different, we only made one “Earth.” We imagined the other planets and what it would be like to live on them.
Steps for the planets:
1. Pull off pieces of the slime and drop them into your plastic lids. Don’t press down on the slime. It will relax and spread out all on its own.
2. Let it relax and dry overnight.
3. At this point, you can pull the slime planets off the lids and stick the sticky side right to a window. Instant sun catchers! They will morph a little since the one side is still slimy. Or, you can pull the slime planets off the lids, flip them over and let the other side dry.
4. Once both sides are dry you can trim them to be more round if you like. Just use regular scissors.
5. Poke a small hole in the slime planets and lace the fishing wire through.
6. Hang on a curtain rod in front of a window and enjoy! Both side must be completely dry before this step or your planet will sag.
If your son or daughter gets really into it, you really can make a whole solar system or two. These would look great hanging in a bedroom and it’s easy enough to do multiple times if you don’t like the look of one planet or you want to add to your solar system. I’d love to see pictures if you try this with your kids!
What a great idea! I love making slime with the kids but never thought of actually creating something with it. Your planets came out beautifully!
what an amazing project. i could see my kids going nuts on this and creating the solar system.
Loving the colors of these DIY art solar systems! So pretty – you can really use this technique for lots of things! And I am also a science geek! 🙂
Karen | GlamKaren.com
These look so cool! I can’t wait to do this project with my nieces. They are going to love this!
I would totally love this project. It’s the kind of project I hope to do with my grandkids. gooey, messy, and beautiful.
Now this is really cool! My kids love learning about the solar system so this would be a really fun project for them to get involved in and we now that they brought home all of their school supplies we have everything we need to make it too!
I am totally saving this! What a fun project or the kids. We are doing astronomy this year, so it will fit right in!
That is a really neat project! And it is really educational. Kids today need more projects like this to challenge their minds. Maybe then they won’t become couch potatoes.
Projects like these make the summer more fun for kids and it keeps their brains active as well. I would love to do this with my daughter. It would be a fun learning experience for us both!
Such a fun idea!!
What a fun idea! My son loves planets right now, so I think he’d love to make these. And they are so pretty!
This looks so awesome!! I know my kids are going to love making these! They love slime and space! Perfect!
We just made slime a couple weeks ago. I love the solar system idea. One of our favorite activities is sitting on the deck in the summer after dark and pulling out our book of stars from the Smithsonian. This goes perfect for more astronomy fun!
This is such a fun way to teach about the solar system! I am going to have to show this to my sister-in-law for my niece.
My kids would absolutely love this! We have been learning a lot about the solar system this week because I am working on a project that involves plants!
This is an incredible way of learning about the solar system. Definitely more exciting than just learning out of a textbook.
Awww.. These look so colorful and fun! Have this pinned so when my baby is old enough, I’d love to make these with him! What a fun way to learn about the planets!
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This is so fun and creative! I need to try this with my daughter!
Oooo how awesome are these sun catchers?! Definitely something my daughter would love! Must make!
My kids would love this!!! Such a fun activity for us to do this summer! Thank you for sharing!
My little nephews are starting to be curious about the planets and astronomy. This is definitely a craft activity I want to do with them! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a neat idea. My youngest is learning about the planets in school, so this would be fun to go along with that.
My boys would love this. Slime would be so fun to make.
My nephew knows a lot about the solar system, the planet’s proper formation, each characteristics, the reason why Pluto is no longer considered a planet and a lot more. Kids just love planets because of its wonders and this slime planet would be a hit for them.
What a genius idea! These would be perfect for my nephews. Of course, I’ll end up laying with them too 🙂
Slime is pretty popular these days especially in pinterest! I think it’s a great way to have fun with the kids while they learn as well.
I don’t know much about slime. I’ve been hearing a bit about it recently… nonetheless, this is really creative!
These are so awesome! I know what you mean, about being a science nerd, that is totally me as well!
Oh this is so awesome! My little scientist is going to love to do this activity.
This looks like such a fun project to do with kids! Let’s be honest, anything to do with slime my daughter is in!!!
Great idea, now there’s more that we can do with the slime.Never thought it has more uses than the usual.
I love space so much so I adore this art project! I need to do this with my baby cousin because I know she’ll love it.
Love these! My kids are obsessed with making slime lately. I would love to see something other than a ziplock of goo out of it.
Oooh we’ve never made slime before – sounds like loads of fun. I love crafty ways to get the kids learning things when they think it’s just fun and games!
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Such fun and learning all in one! Slime is an extremely popular project with many. many children! Adding a science project is the perfect plus!