SPOILER ALERT! THIS IS ONE OF OUR AREA’S BEST KEPT SECRETS……
Who knew we were so close to the Sun?! The Peoria Area is known for many things and astrology typically isn’t one of them, but that’s about to change… Thanks to the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s Community Solar System.
The Peoria Area is home to the world’s most complete large-scale solar system model. The Peoria Area is home to the world’s most complete large-scale solar system model.
The scale factor of the model is 99,000,000 to one, and it covers 6,000 square miles of Central Illinois. The model not only includes the Sun and eight planets, but it also features five dwarf planets and a number of unnamed comets located around the globe. With planets that can be found throughout Peoria, spreading into Princeville, Pekin and beyond, the Community Solar System is the perfect opportunity to discover and explore Central Illinois. Grab your friends and family and get ready for a learning adventure that will put into perspective how large our solar system really is.
Planet Locations
Located on the Peoria Riverfront Museum Sun Plaza and the wall of the Dome Planetarium lobby you will find the Sun and the center of the world’s largest solar system model.
Mercury is near the Riverplex Playground
Venus is near the volleyball courts along the same trail at Constitution Park
Earth is located just around a mile away at the Peoria riverfront on the Rock Island/Pimiteoui Trail in Constitution Park
Mars can be found in Detweiller Marina Park Playground
Ceres is located at the Bonnie W. Noble Center for Park District Administration at Lakeview Park
Jupiter is located in the Peoria International Airport lobby
Saturn is at Pekin Public Library
Uranus can be found at Troutman Park in Princeville
Located just along the Rock Island Trail at the Wyoming Train Depot is Neptune
You can stop there, but if you want to continue to discover the solar system heading out of our region, Pluto is hiding at Good’s Furniture in Kewanee. Haumea, the dwarf planet, is located at the Children’s Discovery Museum in Normal, Illinois. The dwarf planet Makemake, is also beyond our region, located at the Discovery Depot in Galesburg, while Eris is located at Western Illinois University in Macomb.
Whether you plan on discovering all of the planets at once, or finding them over time, we promise all ages will enjoy adventuring throughout our region on the hunt for each planet. Exploring the solar system has never been so easy! Learn more about each planet and its location on the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s Community Solar System page.
Photo Reference: Peoria Riverfront Museum