Q&A for How to Make a Small 3D Atom Model

Make sure you're laying out all of the additional components that an animal cell has that a plant cell does not have, or you don't want to add something extra that a plant cell has, like a chloroplast. Animal cells don't have that. So you don't want to add that in, and you don't want to miss all of the special organelles, which would be the endoplasmic reticulum, the nucleus, the smooth and the rough endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, the lysosomes, the vesicles, and all of those additional components. Another tip is that when making a model, you can typically only put one of each thing in, and with models, you always have to be aware that it's not going to be exactly how it is in a real animal cell. Obviously, we have more than one mitochondria in an animal cell, yet in a model, typically, we're just showing one.

This would be more complicated, as it has 37 protons/electrons and 48 neutrons. Try the calcium structure. Make the nucleus the same way by gluing the protons and neutrons all together. Now, you need to cut out the rings for the energy levels for the electrons, unless you want your atom to be a plasma. You will need five, of course, each one bigger than the last. Glue two electrons in the first one, eight in the second one, 18 in the third one, eight in the fourth one, and finally, glue one in the fifth one. Now attach the string from which you will hang it from, make the information card, and voila, you're finished!

Try using the same type of model as either the neon or oxygen, but just adjust the number of wires/dowels/balls you'll need as the amount of energy levels/subatomic particles will probably be different.

Get some string, one big and six small Styrofoam craft balls, a small hook, and long wooden sticks (found at any craft store). Paint the balls any colors that are required for the project, and poke a hole through the big one on each side. Then take the smaller ones and poke holes in them with the wooden sticks. Take the hook and nail it to the ceiling. Then tie a loop at the end of the string closest to the hook. Loop it onto the hook and glue the other end of the string to the big craft ball in the center. You're done!

Try using the same type of model as either the neon or oxygen, but just adjust the number of wires/dowels/balls you'll need as the amount of energy levels/subatomic particles will probably be different.

Yes, model magic should work just fine for this purpose.

Try beads or cotton balls. Or, you could just make your own out of paper and glue it into a ball.

Try using the same type of model as either the neon or oxygen, but just adjust the number of wires/dowels/balls you'll need as the amount of energy levels/subatomic particles will probably be different.