Amazing Solar System Projects You Can Build Yourself is just that--a book of various solar system models to build. It is divided into three parts. Part 1 has ten projects about the planets and other heavenly bodies, Part 2 has twelve projects on studying and exploring the solar system, and Part 3 has four projects about things beyond our solar system.
 
Each section begins with several pages of introductory material with lots of specialized vocabulary defined. These words are listed again in a glossary at the back of the book. There you will also find a listing of books, websites, and museums to explore.
 
Quite a bit of text is found among the projects as well. I was not expecting so much education material in an activity book for children. You could practically use this as the spine for a unit on astronomy. The text is broken up with black-and-white photos and illustrations.
 
There is a timeline on the first page, the first two items of which are “The universe is created from the Big Bang” and “The solar system forms.” The dates given for these two events are about 13.7 billion years ago and about 4.6 billion years ago, respectively. BCE and CE are used to note BC and AD dates. In Part 3, “Beyond the Solar System,” eight pages of text describe the Big Bang in detail, much of which will be offensive to creationists.
 
After a short introduction, there is a one page “Spotlight on Famous Astronomers.” I was surprised that Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei did not make the list, although they are covered elsewhere in the book.
 
These projects, for ages nine and up, are described as ones children can do with “little adult help.” I think that would depend on the children. Some may need quite a bit of help! The supplies are common household items or are easy to find at the craft store. Here are some examples of the projects: a model of the phases of the moon, a solar wind model, a phaeton-asteroid jigsaw puzzle, two types of telescopes, an Eagle Lander, and a simple seismometer.
 
Some of the projects do not have accompanying illustrations. Visual learners may find that a negative.

If you’ve got a hands-on learner or you are looking for some projects to supplement your astronomy studies, Amazing Solar System Projects You Can Build Yourself could be for you.

Product review by Kathy Gelzer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, August 2008