The Human Orrery

A "human planetary" (or Human Orrery) is a representation of the inner part of the Solar System on which one can move in order to understand, through enaction, the orbits of the planets. It allows for the embodied learning of science and mathematics. The video below is a short introduction to its design.

The video below is part of an international science opera (GSO 2019) and illustrates three Human Orreries used by students of the Pailleron College in Paris (Science Project in 6th grade), a dancer on the orbit of an exoplanet at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris and the Derviche Caravane Company led by Indira Melloul

In this model, the orbits of planets and comets are drawn at a human scale. This makes it possible for participants to physically enact the movements of the planets around the Sun. The Human Orrery has been printed in a large map to model movements of planets up to Jupiter, as well as one asteroid and one comet.

As they engage in the proposed activities, subjects develop an understanding
of the position and motion of the planets in the Solar System through their sensing and
moving bodies. Besides, participants are led to enact different referential frames and reflect
collectively on their tightly coordinated and immersive experience.

You may find pictures of all Human Orrery known around the world in this blog, a survey of publications, and the map of the Human Orreries...

Some examples of activities may be found in a booklet.

Last, a dictionnary of the terms used with the Human Orrery