Make a scale model of the Solar System

This project may be done by teams of up to 3 students.

The goal of this project is to make a scale model of the solar system, including the Sun and at least eight major bodies. If you're not sure what this means, look on-line for some of the many models other people have made; for example, the Voyage Scale Model Solar System in Washington, DC.

As we discussed in class, space is really, really big. Your job is to build a scale model of the solar system, showing the Sun and planets at their proper relative sizes and separations. We started a similar project in class, during the first class meeting, and you have performed additional calculations as part of the first homework set. But this time, you need to finish the job.

Choose an appropriate scale, which will allow you to place all the bodies in a field or large public space, close enough together that you can see them all at once.
Find a way to make a model of each body. This might be a 3-D physical object, like a balloon or a marble or a bean, or it might be a drawing or photograph of the body on a piece of paper. The models must have the correct relative size.
Compute the distance from the Sun to each body, using the body's average distance.
Take an image (or images) showing you and your models. Print out the image(s) onto paper.
Make a table showing, for each body, the real size, the model size, the real distance from the Sun, and the model distance from the Sun.

Submit your image(s) and table, in hardcopy format. Please send me electronic copies of the images as well. Write a brief (one or two paragraph) report describing things you learned during this activity.