I got my kids started (especially my son) using it as a game.

Because textbooks never really show how far the planets are from each other....

I taught my son the planets, and then took him for a ride and pulled over every time we got to the "next planet" (not true toscale, but for effect)

I'd drive for about a half mile for mercury, then 5 miles for Venus...etc.... until we arrived in GA at Pluto with "sun" (home) behind in central FL.