“Never memorize what you can look up in books.” — Albert Einstein

Facts can be memorized, but the Universe has to be experienced. It is vast and beyond comprehension. The scale of the planets, the distance between them, motions of earth, the tilt in earth’s rotational axis, the changing seasons and the reasons behind these phenomena are difficult to visualize as there is no scope of direct exposure. Children of age group 10 to 14 face difficulties to understand these concepts when they are introduced for the first time. As per observations, 2D renderings on paper in text books and videos are not sufficient enough to teach these concepts accurately. In these mediums, the communication is very much one sided. They need something to interact with and test out their mental model of the Solar System. The objective of this project is to provide an interactive medium which will enable students to tinker with it and help them understand these concepts better.

Odyssey, a Solar System Simulator is designed which creates a realistic simulation of the positions of the planets and various other events in our Solar System. The whole system is designed taking into account the mass and gravitational forces acting between the planets. A child is expected to select a time of the year and the system perpetually tracks the information and provides a real time visual feedback of the position of the planets ensuring the learning of the concept. Realistic 3D models of the planets help a child in identifying the planets according to their textures and commit to memory.

The designed platform can also be used effectively to teach other similar concepts like the reason behind change in seasons on the earth throughout the year, the phases of the moon, solar and lunar eclipse etc.

Case Study Download:
• Odyssey - Understanding Solar System......