Where Do Planets Come From?
Season 3 Episode 2
Themes:
Plot Highlights
- A boy named Asher calls the Storybots and asks them how planets are made. They prepare for transport and leave the computer for the outside world to investigate and find Asher an answer.
- The StoryBots arrive in outer space to learn where planets come from. They visit each planet in our solar system, but none of them are able to answer the question of how planets are formed. Finally they meet Pluto, a disgruntled former planet who’s determined to be classified as a planet again. He tells them they’ll have to go deeper into space to find their answer, and he gives them a flick to send them flying further into space.
- The StoryBots marvel at the vastness of space as they drift through it, but they suddenly hit a spaceship. They meet an astronomy professor doing work in space, and they ask her their question. She explains that you need a combination of dust, gas, and gravity to form a planet.
- The group asks the professor a series of questions about gravity, and they learn about how matter bends space to make other smaller objects gravitate towards it. More matter has a higher mass, corresponding to a stronger gravitational pull. They still don’t know how planets are formed, and the professor sends them off to find a cloud of dust and gas.
- The StoryBots find a cloud of dust and gas, and one of the dust particles around them tells them they’ve made it just in time for the cloud to collapse. The dust particles explain that when the center of the cloud gets enough mass, it has gravity that pulls the other particles toward it. The particles collide as they get pulled to the center and release heat, which creates a star. The StoryBots narrowly escape being pulled into the star as the cloud collapses around them.
- Some dust particles remain flying around the star, and they tell the StoryBots that they get to become planets. The group ride on the particles as they collide and form larger and larger clumps, finally creating a planet that will orbit the star. They thank the planet and head back home with their answer.
- The StoryBots return to their boss in the computer and explain how planets are formed. There’s a final song about the formation of planets, then the StoryBots give Asher his answer and he thanks them for answering his question.
Discussion Questions
After this episode, we encourage you to ask your child what they learned about gravity and planets. If they’re excited about the topic, consider exploring some of the following videos and activities to keep their learning going.
- The Storybots is all about asking questions and finding answers, so it’s a great idea to ask your child if they have any questions of their own about space, the planets, or gravity. Then, you can explore online or library resources together to find answers and nurture your child’s curiosity.
- Check out Youtube videos like this one to learn more about gravity, or this one to learn more about the planets in outer space.
Consider doing some of these hands-on activities if your child is excited about learning more about outer space.
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