Overview on our Solar Trail:
Welcome to the KETNS Solar System Trail. The Solar System is our home, from where life as we know it evolved. The Sun is at the centre of the system. Around the Sun are eight planets, several dwarf planets, over one hundred moons, millions of asteroids, billions of rocks, icy objects and space… lots of it, all orbiting the Sun and held by its gravity. Light, heat and the Solar Wind stream out from the Sun to the rest of the Solar System. Planets exert their gravitational pull on Moons and other objects. The Solar System travels as a single unit, from the Sun to the smallest speck of space dust and all the space in between on its epic 225 million year orbit around our Galaxy. There was a time when humans didn’t know the shape or size of the Earth or that the Earth was only one of several planets orbiting a huge star. Everybody is familiar with globes of the Earth, however it is more difficult to represent the Solar System to scale. We designed this Solar System Trail over 2km. On this scale 1cm on the trail represents 22,500km in space.
The Solar System Trail and accompanying written materials were designed and made available by X-Trails. We develop outdoor educational trails. This project is the first of its kind in County Galway and another first for Educate Together. All the research and work has been carried out voluntarily, any funds raised for the project were used for the actual signs and their installation. The trail encompasses the school and is spread over 1.3km along pathways, through forest and fields in the grounds of Kilcornan, which was generously supported by the Brothers of Charity, Clarinbridge Pharmacy, Clarinbridge Garden Centre and of course the Teachers, Parents and Students of Educate Together. We hope that this trail will be used and enjoyed for years to come and serve as an inspiration for many to take up the Sciences and explore our Universe …
~Roni Waserman https://www.x-trails.com/
Resources:
The Scale of the Trail - This document provides a great overview of the scale of the trail. Furthermore, it gives interesting facts about each planet including distance from sun, rotation period, orbital period, minimum temperature and many more. Make sure to check it out!
solar_trail___scale.pdf
Planet Activities - This document provides further activities that could be undertaken at school or home to do with our trail and the Solar system. It has multiple activities from Junior to Sixth class for those who want to go the extra mile!
planets_activities.pdf
Planet Information - This useful document could be used to investigate the planets before starting the trail and using it to inform you once you have begun.
planets_information.pdf
The Solar System Trail Booklet - Is a really well put together resource on each of the planets in our Solar System and the sun! It's a small document which could be printed out and brought on your adventure through our solar trail.
the_solar_system_trail_booklet_black.pdf
Welcome to the KETNS Solar System Trail. The Solar System is our home, from where life as we know it evolved. The Sun is at the centre of the system. Around the Sun are eight planets, several dwarf planets, over one hundred moons, millions of asteroids, billions of rocks, icy objects and space… lots of it, all orbiting the Sun and held by its gravity. Light, heat and the Solar Wind stream out from the Sun to the rest of the Solar System. Planets exert their gravitational pull on Moons and other objects. The Solar System travels as a single unit, from the Sun to the smallest speck of space dust and all the space in between on its epic 225 million year orbit around our Galaxy. There was a time when humans didn’t know the shape or size of the Earth or that the Earth was only one of several planets orbiting a huge star. Everybody is familiar with globes of the Earth, however it is more difficult to represent the Solar System to scale. We designed this Solar System Trail over 2km. On this scale 1cm on the trail represents 22,500km in space.
The Solar System Trail and accompanying written materials were designed and made available by X-Trails. We develop outdoor educational trails. This project is the first of its kind in County Galway and another first for Educate Together. All the research and work has been carried out voluntarily, any funds raised for the project were used for the actual signs and their installation. The trail encompasses the school and is spread over 1.3km along pathways, through forest and fields in the grounds of Kilcornan, which was generously supported by the Brothers of Charity, Clarinbridge Pharmacy, Clarinbridge Garden Centre and of course the Teachers, Parents and Students of Educate Together. We hope that this trail will be used and enjoyed for years to come and serve as an inspiration for many to take up the Sciences and explore our Universe …
~Roni Waserman https://www.x-trails.com/
Resources:
The Scale of the Trail - This document provides a great overview of the scale of the trail. Furthermore, it gives interesting facts about each planet including distance from sun, rotation period, orbital period, minimum temperature and many more. Make sure to check it out!
solar_trail___scale.pdf
Planet Activities - This document provides further activities that could be undertaken at school or home to do with our trail and the Solar system. It has multiple activities from Junior to Sixth class for those who want to go the extra mile!
planets_activities.pdf
Planet Information - This useful document could be used to investigate the planets before starting the trail and using it to inform you once you have begun.
planets_information.pdf
The Solar System Trail Booklet - Is a really well put together resource on each of the planets in our Solar System and the sun! It's a small document which could be printed out and brought on your adventure through our solar trail.
the_solar_system_trail_booklet_black.pdf
