Space & stars
Orbit walk
- Builds: Gravity and orbits
- 10 min
- Ages 5–6
- Energetic
- No mess
From the house
- A scarf or tea towel
- Room to walk in a big circle
- A teddy (the Moon, optional)
How to play
- The Sun (you or a sibling) stands in the middle holding one end of the scarf, and Earth holds the other end.
- Earth walks a big circle around the Sun with the scarf pulled straight: one lap is one year.
- Explain: “The scarf is like gravity. The Sun’s pull keeps Earth going around.” Then the Sun lets go, and Earth walks straight off.
- Now Earth spins slowly while walking around: each spin is one day and one night. Then swap jobs.
Fit it to your child
- Easier: Skip the spinning and just walk around the Sun, saying “one year” at the end of each lap.
- Harder: Add the teddy as the Moon, carried around Earth while Earth goes around the Sun, and tell them Earth spins about 365 times in one lap, so a year has 365 days.
Words to use
- orbit
- Sun
- Earth
- gravity
- year
- spin
Why it helps
Walking the orbit on the scarf shows them that gravity holds Earth on its path around the Sun, one lap every year.
Grown-up eyes: Hold the scarf only in hands, never around a neck or wrist, and spin slowly so no one gets dizzy.