What it shows
A map is a picture of a place seen from above, drawn smaller than real. Using squares to stand for steps shows what scale means.
The science
A map shows things from above, like a bird would see them. A scale tells how much real distance one square stands for. If one square is one step, a room six steps wide is six squares wide. Symbols show furniture, and a key explains each symbol.
Materials
Cost: free. Many items come from home or from waste; spare parts such as LEDs, motors and wire are in the store.
- A sheet of squared paper (free)
- Pencil and ruler
- Crayons
- A measuring tape or your own steps
Safety
For this project: No special safety. Move furniture only with an adult.
Never use mains electricity: power models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Sharp and hot tools, flames and lab chemicals need an adult or your teacher beside you. Keep magnets, button cells and small parts away from young children, and wash your hands after making.
All the safety rulesStep by step
8 steps. Do them in order, and test each part before you go on to the next. Write what you notice in a notebook as you go.
Walk along the wall of your room and count how many steps long and wide it is.
Draw a rectangle on the squared paper with that number of squares.
Mark the door and the window with gaps in the lines.
Count the steps to your bed from the corner and mark the bed as a rectangle on the map.
Mark the cupboard, the table and the chair in the same way.
Colour each thing and write a key, like blue for the bed.
Write “1 square = 1 step” in a corner.
Ask a friend to find an item using only the map.
What you should see
A neat map of your room with a key and scale, which a friend can use to find things.
Viva questions
A teacher or a judge will ask how it works. Try to answer each question before you open it, then compare.
1What is a map?
A drawing of a place as seen from above.
2What does the scale tell us?
How much real distance one square stands for.
3What is a key?
A list explaining the symbols.
4Why is the map smaller than the room?
It is drawn to scale to fit on paper.
Take it further
Draw the map of your whole house and mark the way from your bed to the kitchen.
Change one thing, measure what happens, and add a table or chart of your readings: that is what turns a model into your own investigation.
Free ebooks for this project
Science projects
Easy Science Projects for Class 1 to 5
Simple, safe projects young children can make with a little help
Science projects
Earth, Space and Geography Models
Solar system, seasons, eclipses, volcanoes and the water cycle explained