Here’s how we created our model atom of Sodium:
Materials:
- 3mm aluminum wire
- Duck tape
- styrofoam balls (we used 2″ for the protons and neutrons, 1″ for the electrons)
- wire cutters
- fishing line
- Tempera paint
- Sharpie
- hot glue gun
First it’s helpful to have a basic understanding of the Bohr model of an atom. Here’s my kiddo demonstrating:
I found this video to be most helpful:
The kids picked Sodium because we wanted at least 3 rings, and we only had enough 2″ balls to make an atom the size of Chlorine or smaller. We’re going to continue on with biochemistry for the second great lesson, so I might invite them to build a larger atom later (though I know we will have lots of molecule building to contend with soon). Maybe silver next year?
When painting styrofoam, don’t use spray paint (it will melt the styrofoam). Washable tempera paint works well.
We painted and let the balls dry overnight. The next day we drew positive or negative charges with Sharpies.
Next we glued the 2″ protons and neutrons together and tied some fishing line around the nucleus.
We strung the electrons on the aluminum wire like popcorn on a Christmas tree garland.
Then the kids shaped the metal into round orbits for the shells. Not perfect but the effect was great. Secure with tape.
Lastly we tied the fishing line to each ring. I let the kids do the whole project independently without interfering, so the first attempt at tying the rings together resulted in a chain instead of an atom. They needed a little help adjusting at the end, but all in all this was the kids project start to finish.
I’m so proud of them for demonstrating their understanding of subatomic particles.
