4M Solar System Planetarium - DIY Glow In The Dark Astronomy Planet Model Stem Toys Gift for Kids & Teens, Girls & Boys, Model:3427

If your child has a school project to make a model or picture of the Earth, there's a kit that could be perfect for the task. It's easy to assemble and even a six-year-old child can paint the Earth and Moon with little help. The Earth and Moon pieces are in two halves that click together easily. The kit comes with etched printing on both pieces, with the Earth showing continents and islands to help with painting. You can choose to add glow-in-the-dark paint, but it's optional. One of the best features of this kit is that the Earth spins and the Moon rotates around it, which makes it fun for kids. The movement may be tight and squeaky at first, but it will loosen up over time. The Earth and Moon slide off easily if the whole thing is picked up, but if you keep it in one place, it's perfect for displaying your child's work. Overall, this kit is great for school projects or just for display.

I'd give this 4.5 stars if that were an option (and why isn't it an option, by the way?). It was perfect for our needs as an elementary home school family. My first grader loved it and was able to learn from the 3D, hands-on experience. There's no better way to learn an abstract concept. I snapped the planets together and sanded them slightly with the sandpaper square to "rough them up" before painting, as suggested. My seven-year-old and I snapped them into position on the model and then painted them together. The paint adhered to the planets very well. The glow paint didn't work well when we mixed it with other paints, but it did work well on the planets that we applied it to as a top layer (just a little FYI). This model is very small, but that works well for us. Just for reference, the "sun" is about the size of a ping pong ball. Jupiter is about the size of a giant marble, maybe a bit larger. The planets and distances between are not to scale but served our purpose well. We were wanting to learn about orbits, positions of the planets, and sequence from the sun. The only thing I would have liked to change was the fact that the set doesn't include Pluto. Yes, I know it's no longer considered a planet as it is now considered a "dwarf planet". Still, I would've liked to have it in the set.

Good for young kids, but not as accurate as the picture shows. If not for them being labeled you wouldn't be able to tell which planet they were. If it's for teens buy a nicer one.

My homeschooler loved it, also these kits are sold at NASA. We made a trip to nasa after doing some solar system/ sun lessons at home then ended the session with this project. It’s simple, cute and fun to put together for my 6 year old

You know I almost did not buy this because of the reviews for everyone. First let me say that this is NOT a toy. This is not something to be played with like you would a car or Barbie. This is an education toy that sits and waits till you need to use it for school. this is what I bought it for and this is what it was manufactured for.Second, the parts are smaller then I thought they would be, BUT, not so small that my 8 year old could not handle it. I do recommend you use your own paint brushes. You know how these children kits are, the brush is so huge that there is no way you can do any detail work. I happen to have a brush set for my child and we just used that.Lastly, I think this was well worth the money. We were going to put together one of those Styrofoam ball solar systems, but this is WAY better! It is not hanging from my ceiling and it comes to the table every Tuesday and Friday when we learn about our solar system. Even my 5 year old is starting to understand the solar system and this educational toy has been a great help in learning about rotate and revolve.I highly recommend you give this a try, especially if you are a home educator or a parent who just wants to spend some time with your kids learning about the solar system. For the price, really what do you have to loose but a little time having fun painting it and putting it together with your children!?!?!

Product was very useful and educational for my son. Great for bonding time. Need better instruction. some of the planets got confuse and painted it wrong

Bought this as a birthday gift for a little girl and she loved it! Came on time and it was a great price!

My granddaughter, and I completed the model, but it was not easy since it is so very small. It was not complicated just hard to manipulate in order to paint. That said this was a terrific project which kept her engaged throughout. The completed model was awesome. It is well worth the effort. Also, it was a wonderful price for what you got.