Easy Sun Activities for Kids: Learn About Our Star with Hands-On Science
The Sun is one of those science topics that almost always gets kids asking questions. How hot is it? Could we ever visit it? Why doesn't it burn up Earth?
Those questions are exactly why I love teaching about the Sun. It's something children see every day, yet there's so much happening behind that familiar bright spot in the sky.
Whether you're homeschooling, teaching a classroom science unit, or simply following a child's love of space, the Sun is a wonderful place to begin exploring our solar system. Here are a few of my favorite facts, activities, and ways to take the learning further.
What Is the Sun?
Although it looks different from the stars we see at night, the Sun is actually a star... the closest star to Earth.
It is a giant ball of extremely hot gases, mostly hydrogen and helium. Deep inside the Sun, enormous pressure causes hydrogen atoms to combine, creating helium and releasing tremendous amounts of energy. That energy travels through space as heat and light, reaching Earth in about 8 minutes and 20 seconds.
Everything living on Earth depends on the Sun. Plants use sunlight to make food, animals rely on plants, and people depend on both.
Fun Sun Facts for Kids
Children love amazing facts! Here are a few favorites.
- The Sun is about 4.6 billion years old.
- It is nearly 865,000 miles (1.39 million km) across.
- More than one million Earths could fit inside the Sun.
- Even though it looks yellow from Earth, the Sun actually gives off nearly white light.
- Sunlight takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach us.
- The Sun contains about 99.8% of all the mass in our solar system.
- The Sun's gravity keeps all eight planets moving around it.
- The Sun has six main layers: the core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona.
- The Sun has cooler, darker areas called sunspots. They may look small from Earth, but some sunspots can be larger than our entire planet.
- There are several Sun missions that have given Scientists more information on the Sun and our Solar System.
Why Is the Sun So Important?
It's easy to think of the Sun as simply something that lights up the daytime sky, but it does so much more than that.
The Sun gives Earth:
- light
- warmth
- energy for plants to grow
- changing seasons
- weather
- the gravity that keeps our solar system together
Every bite of food we eat ultimately depends on energy that first came from the Sun.
We tried it! One of our Sun experiments was building a simple solar oven and testing it with cookie dough. Watching solar energy create a visible change made for a pretty memorable science experiment.
Easy Ways to Learn About the Sun
You don't need fancy equipment to make learning about the Sun memorable.
Some of our favorite activities include:
🌞 Build a simple solar oven.
🌞 Track shadows at different times of the day.
🌞 Paint a colorful Sun using warm colors.
🌞 Create a model showing the Sun's layers.
🌞 Compare the size of Earth and the Sun using balls or fruit.
Hands-on learning almost always helps children remember science concepts better than simply reading about them.
Continue Your Sun Mission
Ready to keep exploring? The learning doesn’t have to stop here! Head over to the free Sun Mission in Space Explorers Mission Control, where kids can discover more through videos, games, activities, and other resources I’ve gathered to make learning about the Sun fun.
It’s completely free to explore, just choose your next adventure and keep learning!
Ready for a Complete Sun Lesson?
If you're looking for a complete, ready-to-use science unit, the Space Explorers: Sun Mission Unit goes much deeper than this article.
Inside you'll find:
- engaging reading passages
- printable mission logs
- vocabulary activities
- STEM challenges
- coloring pages
- extension ideas
- answer keys
- a Kahoot! review game
- teacher guide
Whether you're teaching one child or an entire classroom, everything is organized and ready to use.
☀️ Explore the Complete Sun Mission Unit
Keep Exploring the Solar System
The Sun is just the beginning of our journey through space.
We're adding new Space Explorer missions as we continue exploring the planets, and every mission helps children build a deeper understanding of our amazing solar system.
If you'd like to know when new missions are released, be sure to sign up for Mission Updates inside Mission Control.
Happy exploring!
⭐ Mrs. Bettina