Time Simulating Solar System Models

Mechanical representations of the solar system have been around for thousands of years. The human fascination with the night sky has been recorded in every culture as far back as documented time. This paper proposes a method for motivating STEM through the development of two orrery systems both of which have unique characteristics that provide their own teaching methods to students and adults about how the solar system functions. An orrery is a mechanical solar system. This paper details the technical development of a classical orrery and a modern orrery that can be used to teach and simulate the solar system. The classical orrery will have one degree of freedom and feature gear trains for the orbit simulation motion while the modern orrery will have ten degrees of freedom and feature programmed actuators for the orbit simulation motion. These contrasting designs mixed with the curiosity of planetary motion creates a STEM learning experience for both the builders and the observers of these simulated solar systems.