Make an Earth Fan

Fan yourself with Earth’s layers!
We spend pretty much all our time on Earth’s crust.
It’s where all the land and oceans are. But below the
crust, there’s a lot going on.

The crust is just like the skin on an apple. It doesn’t

go very deep. But it’s still deeper than you could ever
dig. It’s 18.6 miles (30 km) deep on land. At the
bottom of the ocean, the crust is still about 3 miles (5
km) deep.

Below the crust is Earth’s biggest layer, the mantle.

It’s a hot soup of molten rock. The mantle goes 1,801
miles (2,900 km ) deep. Below the mantle is the
outer core; it’s made of liquid iron and nickel. At the
center of Earth is the inner core. It’s a solid center The colors in this diagram are
made of iron and nickel metals. the same colors used in the
Earth Fan worksheet below.
Remember what each color
To remember that Earth is much more than just the represents as you assemble
surface we see every day, make this Earth layer fan. and use your fan.

What you need:

• 3 copies of the Earth Fan Worksheet

• Scissors
• Glue stick
• 2 jumbo popsicle sticks

   

Find this activity online and learn more by visiting NASA Space Place: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan.
Find more fun activities at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/do.
  

What to do:

1. Cut out the three square shapes.

 
 

2. Fold along the first dotted line.

 
 

3. Flip over the paper and fold to the

next dotted line.

 
 

4. Keep folding, turning the paper

over after each fold, until you’ve
folded a fan.

 
 

Find this activity online and learn more by visiting NASA Space Place: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan.
Find more fun activities at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/do.
  

5. Fold the fan in half.

 
 

6. Glue the inside of the fold

together to create a small fan
section.

 
 

7. Repeat steps three through seven

with the other two printouts. Now
you have three small fans.

 
 

8. Glue the first section to your

popsicle stick with the fold of the
fan touching the top of the
popsicle stick.

 
 

Find this activity online and learn more by visiting NASA Space Place: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan.
Find more fun activities at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/do.
  

9. Glue the next fan section on top.

Make sure the fan folds point the
same direction.

 
 

10. Glue the last fan section on top.

 
 

11. Glue the other popsicle stick on

top. Press down to get a good
seal.

 
 
12. Let the glue dry for a few minutes.

13. Open your fan and cool yourself

off.
 

Find this activity online and learn more by visiting NASA Space Place: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan.
Find more fun activities at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/do.
Earth Fan
Find the full directions at spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan

Directions:
1. Print three copies of this page.
2. Cut out the square shape.
3. Fold along the dotted lines in alternating directions.
4. Assemble your fan according to the directions at spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan

Crust
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core
Outer Core
Mantle

Crust

spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan
Earth Fan
Find the full directions at spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan

Directions:
1. Print three copies of this page.
2. Cut out the square shape.
3. Fold along the dotted lines in alternating directions.
4. Assemble your fan according to the directions at spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan

Crust
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core
Outer Core
Mantle

Crust

spaceplace.nasa.gov/earth-fan