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Architectural Visualization Firm

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Grades 6-875-90 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Students design a small building space and build a model to see how sunlight, air, and sound move through it. Then they check that a wheelchair user can really get around before calling it done. It is architecture that uses all four senses.

Budget levels

Amazon prices checked Oct 9-10, 2026 and may change

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

Quick Start

Digital downloads only.

$0 to buy. Printing noted separately.

Student time: one class period, one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one class period on a single day.

Scale back: Fit it into a shorter period, use fewer effects, or run a demo instead of a build.

Scale up: Add one extra effect, or spread the share-out across another day.

Ambiance video

Ambiance video coming soon from Creative Dad Studio

  • School device light meter appBorrow or school hasuse what you have
  • flashlightBorrow or school hasuse what you have

Full Experience

Required materials for the class.

About $9.99 (estimate, some items still being priced) per class (class of about 30, 6 groups).

Student time: one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one school day.

Scale back: Fit the build into one period with fewer effects.

Scale up: Spread the work across days, or add more effects.

  • tissue stripsRequired1price not confirmed
  • small fanRequired11 fan$9.99Amazon

Total Transformation

The bigger kit, with every optional item included.

About $9.99 (estimate, some items still being priced) per class (class of about 30, 6 groups).

Student time: one day (one session, one-day event).

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one session, a one-day event.

Scale back: Shorten the event, or run a demo for a smaller audience.

Scale up: Spread the build and the event across days, or invite a bigger audience.

Materials

Cardboard (scale model); Flashlight; Small fan; Scale wheelchair figure; School device light meter app; tissue strips

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change.

As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

  • Cardboard sheets

    Cardboard (scale model)

    Shop

  • Small handheld flashlights

    Flashlight

    Shop

  • Mini desk fan

    Small fan

    Shop

  • Classroom scale

    Scale wheelchair figure

    No link

Steps

  1. Write criteria and constraints before sketching. Criteria: every zone reads at least 100 lux on the light meter app at both sun angles, every zone scores at least 1 on the airflow scale, and doorways are at least 1 wheelchair width plus a turning circle at scale. Constraints: model size, one sheet of cardboard, a limit on total window area (more glass means more heat loss), and the sun's low and high angles. Note impacts on people, like glare or energy bills, and list one impact on the natural environment, such as extra heating or cooling energy and the pollution it causes from too much glass, and explain how it limits window area.
  2. Sketch a simple room layout and predict where sunlight will fall and where air might get stuck.
  3. Build a cardboard scale model with removable wall panels, then make at least two different window and door layouts.
  4. Test each layout: shine a flashlight at a low and a high sun angle and measure light in each zone with a school device light meter app, then run a small fan and watch a tissue strip in each zone to rate airflow (0 = still, 1 = flutters, 2 = strong).
  5. Roll a scale wheelchair figure through each layout and record whether it passes and turns.
  6. Score every layout in a decision matrix using the measured data for each criterion and constraint, and pick the best one.
  7. Present your final design with the matrix and your reasons for light, air, access and environmental impact.

Standards mapped

  • NGSS · MS-ETS1-1

    Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

  • NGSS · MS-ETS1-2

    Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.