Academic Fair: Interests and Inquiries: Models

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Models Can Answer Questions

If children have been wondering how something works or how it's put together, then sometimes they can find out by making and using a model. Professional researchers use many types of models:

Physical models show how things are built. They can be tested when you can't test the real thing.
Working models are physical models that show how parts work together to make a functioning whole.
Dioramas are models that show things in their natural environment.
Computer models use numbers and equations to work through processes that are hard to duplicate in the real world.

Here's an example of a working model from an earlier Academic Fair:

	This project used a working model to answer the question, "How does an automobile motor work?"

As children make their models, parents can help them think about questions like these:

In what ways is my model like the real thing? In what ways is it different?
How can I change my model to make it more realistic, or make it perform better or faster?
What did I learn as I built my model?

Older children might also think about these questions:

In what ways can my model help people better understand the real thing?
In what ways might my model lead to misunderstandings about the real thing?

The answers to these questions can be included in children's presentations at the fair.

The key step will be to develop a research question that can be answered by making and studying the model.

Go here to learn more about developing a question.

Return to the Types of Projects page.