The vastness of our solar system - with all of its planets, moons and comets - is a difficult concept for young people to grasp.

Doug Kasparek, director of the Air Park Neighborhood Center, had an idea: Why not use the city of Lincoln as a model?

So Jon Beiermann, an after-school program teacher, Beiermann and 15 kids in grades K-5 asked businesses and other places if they wanted to portray planets and the moon. Ten said yes.

"The project is designed to help them fathom the distance between planets," said Beiermann, "and just how long space can be."

The IGA grocery store in Airpark became Mercury, which is the closest planet to the sun. Of the 10 locations, it's also the nearest to the center. You get the picture.

A ceremony Thursday at the center, 3720 N.W. 46th St., honored club members for their initiative and hard work.

"The astronomy club did a cool project and they learned an awful lot," Kasparek said. "We want to give them some special respect. … The simple fact is we care about kids and we've got some very special kids."

"We worked very hard," said Arnold Elementary School fifth-grader Parker Jensen.

He then recited an acronym - MVEMJSUNP - that helps him remember the planets. It stands for: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.)

Libby Raetz, director of emergency services at Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, was impressed with the project and the students' speaking abilities. St. Elizabeth agreed to represent Uranus in the city solar system.

"It's a good way to get kids involved - not only in learning but also as a team," Raetz said.

The project fits with the hospital's goals of working with the community, she said.

It also had an ulterior motive. Club members got a mini-tour of the hospital, and afterward, some of the kids expressed an interest in pursuing health careers.

"We like to start young," Raetz said.

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.