Thanks to some industrious fourth-grade students, Dolores residents can now learn about the solar system while taking a walk on the river trail.
As part of a science lesson, the Dolores students designed and help to install nine displays of the planets, including the dwarf planet Pluto, and spaced them apart according to scale.
“It shows what fourth-graders can do,” said student Zane Baldwin.
The project was months in the making, and included a variety of lessons. First students came up with the idea and proposed it to the Dolores mayor and board members.
“They liked it so much we got permission to make it a permanent display,” said student Ashlyn Mickkelson. “It feels awesome to show off what we did.”
Students researched each planet, and wrote up descriptions of their characteristics and moons. They worked on design of the displays, held fundraisers, solicited donations and coordinated with high school students for welding and fabrication.
“It’s part of our approach to get students involved in community projects,” said teacher Jay Loschert. “Designing and building gave them a lot of confidence, and they learned to work together.”
Added secondary principal Gary Livick, “Participation like this gives them a deeper knowledge of the concepts and will help them retain that information.”
The lesson of spacing the planets to scale got through.
“I never realized how far away the planets are from each other,” Mickkelson said.
Contemplate faraway planets and all of their strangeness while taking a walk, advised student Zachary Taylor.
“Uranus has 27 moons, Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system,” he said. “We’re sharing what we learned.”
The planet displays begin at the Dolores Public Library trailhead.
