My boys have been obsessed with rockets, space exploration and the planets lately, so we spend a lot of time looking at our space flash cards, playing with our toy rockets and astronauts, reading our space books (The Planets by Gail Gibbons is Will's favorite; Henry likes Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton), and of course, visiting the science museum! I took the boys back to the museum again yesterday. It has been their absolute favorite place to be this summer, so if it seems like we're there every week, we probably are!
We always start our journey on the front walkway, where all the planets are lined up in order. If you follow the path of the planets, you're led right up to the sun on the top step and into the museum. We start at Pluto, because it's right at the curb. And yes, we know Pluto is no longer a planet, but it's still part of the walkway, and it's one of our favorites!
Dwarf planet Pluto is very small, so the boys were fighting over who got to stand on it first.
Then we're on to the gas giants, starting with Neptune. Henry likes Neptune because it appears to be blue (due to a gas in its atmosphere) and Henry loves all things blue! 
Next up is Uranus. Did you know Uranus is tilted way up on its side?
Everyone loves Saturn. Those rings are pretty cool-looking, even when they're done in concrete!
Jupiter is HUGE. Fortunately, that means no fighting over who stands on it first! Will's favorite fact about Jupiter is that there is lightning on the planet.
Then we get to the rocky midgets, starting with Mars, the red planet. 
I actually didn't get a picture of anyone standing on Earth, but we're already really on Earth, so the next one is Venus. Did you know Venus rotates in the opposite direction of the other planets?
And then there's Mercury, which has no atmosphere.
I actually didn't get a picture of anyone standing on Earth, but we're already really on Earth, so the next one is Venus. Did you know Venus rotates in the opposite direction of the other planets?And then there's Mercury, which has no atmosphere.
We finally made it to the Sun, and then it was inside the museum to continue our adventure! 
If your kiddos love the planets too, you have to take them to the museum. Start on the walkway and be sure to get tickets to see "The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket" in the Planetarium. It's about two kids who go on a journey to all eight planets in their cardboard rocket. If you use your imagination, I bet you can join them on the journey too! I know we do.
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