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My Membership will be unavailable from 4am to 2pm on Thursday 16 July. Thank you for your patience 

My Membership will be unavailable from 4am to 2pm on Thursday 16 July. Thank you for your patience 

My Membership will be unavailable from 4am to 2pm on Thursday 16 July

Supported by UK Space Agency

Journey around the sun

Explore how Earth spins and moves around the sun to create days, years and seasons in this fun, interactive activity.

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You’ll need

  • A4 paper
  • Pens or pencils
  • lamp or large torch

Before you begin 

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Take a look at our guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.  
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.
  • Axis – The imaginary line running through the Earth, from the North to the South Poles. Earth spins around its axis.
  • Daytime – The hours of the day when the Sun is above the horizon and provides enough light to see.
  • Earth – Our planet, the third from the Sun in our Solar System.
  • Night time – The hours of the day when it's dark outside, the Sun is below the horizon and you can’t see its light.
  • Seasons – The four periods of the year we base our calendar around; spring, summer, autumn and winter.
  • Solar System – The Solar System is the name given to the part of space that surrounds the Sun and everything in it, from planets to moons, comets and asteroids.
  • Orbit – The path Earth takes as it travels around the Sun once every year.
  • Equator – An imaginary line around the middle of Earth that is halfway between the North and South Poles. It’s usually very warm near the equator.
  • Solstice – The two times in the year when the Sun is at its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, giving us the longest or shortest days.
  • Sphere – A perfect round 3D shape, like a ball. Earth is almost a sphere but not quite

Day and Night

The Earth is constantly spinning. We can't fee it spinning but it is actually moving at 1000 miles an hour.

It takes 24 hours for the Earth to do one full rotation on its axis and get back to the point that it started from. This is what makes a day.

When the Earth rotates, one side will be facing the Sun and it will be daytime in these countries.

On the opposite side of the Earth, the countries that are facing away from the Sun will be dark and it will be night-time.

One Year

The Earth, along with the rest of the other planets in our Solar System, orbit the Sun. Each planet takes a different amount of time to travel around the Sun once, depending on how close they are to it.

The Earth takes about 365.25 days to orbit the Sun which is one year.

When you look at a model of the Earth or a globe, they are usually mounted straight with the North Pole right at the top of the globe and the South Pole right at the bottom with the axis straight through the middle.

However, in real life the Earth is actually tipped over at an angle of 23.5 degrees from upright.

The tilt of the Earth means that as it orbits the Sun, the Northern and Southern Hemisphere get different amounts of sunshine at different times of the year.

This creates the different seasons.

  1. The Earth spins on its axis once every 24 hours, and this is what gives us day and night.
  2. Because the Earth is always spinning, it can be daytime in one part of the world while it’s nighttime in another.
  3. The Earth's rotation makes the Sun appear to rise in the east and set in the west every day.
  4. Near the North and South Poles, there are times of the year when there can be 24 hours of daylight or 24 hours of darkness.
  5. The shortest day of the year in the UK is called the winter solstice, and the longest day is the summer solstice.
  6. In the UK, the clocks go forward by one hour in March and back by one hour in October to mark British Summer Time.
  7. The Earth isn’t a perfect sphere; its spin causes it to be slightly flattened at the poles and bulged at the equator.
  8. The Earth spins at about 1,000 miles per hour at the equator, which is faster than most airplanes!
  9. It takes the Earth 365 days to complete one full orbit around the Sun, which is why a year is 365 days long.
  10. The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, it’s the third planet from the Sun, has just one moon, is the fifth-largest planet, and 70% of its surface is covered in water.

     

     

Planning and setting up this activity 

  • Make sure there is plenty of space for everyone to move around safely without bumping into anything or each other.
  • Plug in and set up the lamp in the center of the room. This lamp will be the Sun. Be careful of any trailing wires so no one trips.
  • Mark a spot on the wall or ceiling to represent Polaris (the North Star). You could put up a sign or sticker, so everyone knows where to face and keeps their tilt the same.
  • To help the group remember when to do each season’s action, place signs, pictures or floor tape around the circle showing spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
  • You could prepare some quick questions to ask during the activity, such as “What do you notice about your shadow when you spin toward the lamp?” or “How do you feel when you lean your body like the Earth’s tilt?” This helps keep everyone thinking and involved.
  • Try to keep the activity moving at a good pace to hold attention, but be ready to slow down if everyone has lots of questions or want to explore more.

Running this activity

  1. Gather everyone together and ask if anyone knows why we have day and night on Earth.
  2. Place the lamp on the floor or on a low table in the center of the circle, pointing straight up toward the ceiling. Avoid shining it directly into anyone’s eyes. This is our Sun!
  3. Have everyone stand in a big circle around the lamp.
  4. Ask everyone to stand tall and imagine their body is the Earth’s axis — an invisible line going from their head (the North Pole) down to their feet (the South Pole).
  5. Have everyone spin slowly on the spot. When their face is toward the lamp, it’s daytime. When their back is to the lamp, it’s nighttime. One full spin equals one whole day. Make sure everyone spins slowly and carefully to avoid getting dizzy or bumping into anyone. Stop spinning if you feel dizzy or uncomfortable. Let them spin a few times so they understand.
  6. Explain that Earth isn’t straight up and down — it leans a little. This is called a tilt. Ask everyone to lean their upper body slightly to one side (about 23 degrees) toward the Polaris spot you chose. Remind them to keep this tilt the same as they move around the Sun.
  7. Now ask everyone to slowly walk around the lamp in a big circle, keeping their body tilted the same way. This walking around the Sun is called orbiting. Earth takes one full orbit to make one year.
  8. Explain that Earth spins to make day and night, and tilts as it orbits to cause the seasons.
  9. Tell them Earth’s tilt means different places get different sunlight at different times. When your part of Earth leans toward the Sun, it’s summer — warm with long days. When it leans away, it’s winter — cold with short days. Spring and autumn happen when Earth is tilted sideways, with day and night about the same length.
  10. As a group, walk around the Sun and stop at four points to show the seasons in the UK. At each stop, spin once to show one day passing and do a seasonal action:
    • Spring: Reach arms up like a growing flower.
    • Summer: Pretend to swim and smile.
    • Autumn: Shake arms like falling leaves.
    • Winter: Curl up and shiver.
  11. Explain that when it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere (like the UK), it’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere (like Australia). The seasons are opposite!
  12. Split the group into two: one half pretends to be the Northern Hemisphere, the other half the Southern Hemisphere. Walk around the Sun again and notice how the opposite sides have opposite seasons.

Look at the Moon’s Orbit Around Earth

  • Use a small ball to represent the Moon.
  • Have one young person stand still as the Earth.
  • Have another young person slowly walk around them, acting as the Moon.
  • Both the “Earth” and “Moon” can slowly spin around a Sun.
  • Explain that:
    • A month is the time it takes for the Moon to orbit Earth once.
    • The Moon’s movement around Earth causes the different phases of the Moon we see in the sky.
    • One full cycle of the Moon (from full Moon to full Moon) takes about 29.5 days.
    • Calendar months are based on this cycle and usually last between 28 and 31 days. (Source: BBC Bitesize, 2025)
    • The Moon is tidally locked, meaning it always shows the same side to Earth because it spins at the same speed it orbits.
    • To show this, have the “Moon” always face the “Earth” as they move around.
  • Tips:
    • Use a lamp to show how the Sun lights up the Moon differently depending on its position.
    • Encourage the “Moon” to point a hand or a card towards the “Earth” to help visualize tidal locking.
    • Ask questions like, “What phase do you think the Moon is in now?” as they move.

Day/Night Cycle on the Moon

  • The Moon has day and night, just like Earth.
  • But one day on the Moon is much longer — it lasts about 29 Earth days!
  • Young people can slowly spin and walk around to show how this works.
  • Tips:
    • Use slow, exaggerated movements, so everyone can see how long a lunar day is.
    • Compare by spinning the “Earth” faster to highlight the difference.

Compare Earth’s Spin to Other Planets

  • Other planets also spin and go around the Sun, but they spin at different speeds.
  • For example:
    • Jupiter spins really fast (one day lasts about 10 hours).
    • Venus spins very slowly and even backwards!
  • You can have everyone pretend to be different planets by spinning fast, slow, or even backwards.
  • Tips:
    • Play music and have young people spin at different speeds matching each planet.
    • Use a timer or stopwatch to time how long a “day” lasts for each planet in the game.
    • Discuss how these spins might affect weather or life on those planets.

Seasons on Other Planets?

  • Ask: “Do other planets have seasons like Earth?”
  • Explain that some planets do have seasons because they tilt on their axis, just like Earth.
  • Other planets don’t have much tilt, so they don’t have seasons like we do.
  • You can explore which planets have a tilt similar to Earth’s and which ones don’t.

Sunlight Intensity and Temperature

  • When Earth tilts toward the Sun, sunlight hits directly.
  • This makes the sunlight stronger and the temperature warmer.
  • When Earth tilts away, sunlight spreads out more.
  • This means less sunlight and cooler temperatures.
  • You can use a torch and a small globe or ball to show how this works.
    • Slowly move the torch closer and farther from the globe to simulate different angles of sunlight.
    • Use a torch with different brightness settings to represent intensity changes.
    • Ask, “Where on Earth would it be summer or winter based on the light?”

Reflection

This activity was all about understanding how Earth’s movement around the Sun causes different seasons and changes in daylight. By building the model, you saw Earth's tilt and orbit affect how much sunlight different parts of the planet get. How did you find working in a team? Did talking with others help understand how the seasons are made? Did the model make it easier to see how temperature and daylight change? What was the most fun or helpful part of the activity? How did everyone communicate to get the model just right? 

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Science

Supervise young people, and only do science activities that are advised and age appropriate for your section. Test activities first, to make sure you’re confident you can lead them safely. Use protective clothing where necessary.

Electrical equipment

Inspect cables for any damage before each use. A responsible adult should supervise people using equipment, and people should follow instructions on how to use them correctly and safely. They should be properly maintained and stored. Be extra cautious of trailing cables and water when using electric equipment.

Dark

Provide some light, so the environment isn’t completely dark. Everyone must be able to see others and move around the area safely.

  • To make this activity easier, you could do this in small groups.
  • To make this activity harder, have a look at other things you could explore such as the moon's orbit or other planets.
  • Rather than walking around the sun, everyone could be seated around the lamp. You could pass around a globe or foam ball to act as the Earth. 
  • Make sure any equipment is accessible for everyone. Some examples include making sure to use colours that can easily be identified for anyone who’s colourblind or using items that make noise for anyone with visual impairments. There should be space or access for everyone to move around and reach anything needed too. 
  • Always make sure people know what they're doing and which way to go, such as having a demonstration of what to do, adults to help guide people, or signs and arrows to show the route. 
  • Let everyone can move around the space in whatever way and at whatever speed works for them. For example, some people could have the option be the sun and sit in the middle to take on a more stationary role. 
  • Some people may be sensitive to bright lights or flashing lights, such as the turning of torches on and off or the lamp. You could use photos of the sun instead or they may want to wear sunglasses. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Cubs Space Activity Badge
Beavers Space Activity Badge

If you enjoyed this activity, you could try one of our other space activities, such as Solar Sorting.