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Community Solar System
Explore our model



Experience the awesome size of the universe by touring an accurate scale model of our solar system. We have created a Community Solar System as part of the Welcome to the Universe exhibit at the Museum of Science.

Please note: During the 2010 - 2011 Planetarium renovation, parts of the Community Solar System are unavailable. Please call the locations of the planets to confirm their accessibility before visiting

Starting from the Charles Hayden Planetarium, the Community Solar System is anchored by an 11.6 ft (3.5 m) diameter Sun -- that is 400 million times smaller than the real thing! We've used the same 1-to-400 million scale (where 1 inch equals 6,215 miles or 10,000 km) to place a set of planet sculptures in exhibit kiosks around the greater Boston area. Each location marks that planets' scaled distance from our model sun.

Click on the map to see a zoomed in view of the locations of the inner planets.




What to Do

Tour the Solar System

Visit all nine planets in our Community Solar System. The planets can be reached by public transportation and are all wheelchair-accessible, but some locations may not be open to the public 24 hours a day. Find out more about how to get to the individual planet locations.



Science Learning Network / email:sln@mos.org / © 1998 Museum of Science