A mnemonic is a memory aid to make recall easier. For an easy example, if you want to remember how to spell the word ‘music’, a mnemonic is ‘mother usually sings in church’. Maryn Smith has a wonderful mnemonic for recalling the planets. It’s “My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants”.

“…National Geographic Children’s Books created the contest in response to the recent announcement by the scientific community that there are now 11 recognized planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris. Ceres, Pluto and Eris are considered dwarf planets.”

link: Student wins mnemonic competition

Kudos to Maryn. She should be receiving a call to revise that if any more planets are added to the list.

Catherine

Tags: memory, recall, planets, mnemonic, maryn smith