Although the nucleus of an atom is far too small for us to see, here's one way of thinking about an atomic nucleus: as a cluster of tightly packed "balls". The red "balls" represent protons; the blue "balls" represent neutrons. The cloud of electrons that "orbit" an atom's nucleus and define the "size" of an atom is roughly 100,000 times as large as that atom's nucleus!
Original artwork by Windows to the Universe staff (Randy Russell).