Writing in the first century BC, Cicero mentions an instrument “recently constructed by our friend Poseidonius, which at each revolution reproduces the same motions of the sun, the moon, and the five planets.” Archimedes is also said to have made a small planetarium, but these were just taken as literals as none were discovered …
Here’s a simple experiment. Take a sharpened pencil and try to balance it at its tip using your finger.