How to Do a Model of a Forest Ecosystem in a Shoebox

Represent the tall trees as well as ground-level growth in your model.

In North America, temperate deciduous forests are the predominant forest type. They span more than one and a half million square miles on the North American continent, particularly dominating the eastern landscape, and are also present in Asia, Europe, South America and Australia. Recycle an old shoebox for a science project representing the flora and fauna of this crucial biome and its characteristic seasons.

Things You'll Need

• Large shoebox with lid
• Paint and paintbrush
• Sponge
• White liquid glue
• Miniature artificial plants and animals
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Artificial snow spray

Instructions

1. Remove the lid from the box and set it aside. Paint the inside of the large bottom portion or base of the box blue to represent the sky. Paint the inside of the lid brown to use as the ground. Let dry, then sponge-paint green areas sporadically across the ground to represent the plant growth on the forest floor, such as mosses and ferns. Paint the outside of the box to match if desired.

2. Stand the long side of the box’s bottom half on your work surface. Coat the inside of the long edge with white glue, then wedge the long edge of the lid inside so that the two pieces fit snugly. Slide the lid all the way inside and press it into the glue, then let dry.

3. Gather miniature artificial trees to represent the growth in the deciduous forest, particularly oaks, walnuts or maples. Include trees of different height and some shrubbery to represent the different levels or zones of forest growth. Shop at dollhouse supply stores or online for detailed and accurate representations. Select an even amount of budding trees, fully green trees, color-changing trees and leafless trees to distinguish the seasons of the temperate forest. Divide the trees you’ve collected into four groups to represent spring, summer, fall and winter.

4. Divide the length of the ground portion of the box into four sections. Designate each as its own season, arranging the seasons in chronological order from left to right. Use hot glue to attach the plants for spring, summer and fall into the first three quarters of the box. Leave room for animals to be added later. Coat leafless winter trees and the final quarter of the box with artificial spray snow, then attach those trees in the same fashion. Let dry.

5. Attach representative animal figures to your model. Purchase these to scale as much as possible. Choose a diverse cross-section of the forest’s wildlife, such as deer, black bears, foxes, squirrels, snakes, cardinals and mosquitoes. Glue animals to their appropriate location in the ecosystem; attach birds and flying insects to trees, for example, and others to the ground. Be sure to place fewer animals in the winter section of your model and consider which creatures hibernate in the winter before gluing your figures down.

Tips & Warnings

• Decorate the outside of your box with a map of the biome’s distribution around the world.

• Space out your trees and animals enough so that everything may be seen adequately. Do not overcrowd your model; include relevant details that cannot be represented fully in your model, such as additional characteristic flora and fauna as well as climate details, on the outside of the box.

• Create your own seasonal trees. Purchase only trees with green leaves, then paint flower buds on them to make spring trees and shades of red, orange and yellow on them to make fall trees. Substitute small branches, collected from outdoors or purchased at a craft shop, as leafless winter trees.

References

• Marietta College: The Temperate Deciduous Forest
• Utah Education Network: Eastern Temperate Forests
• Blue Planet Biomes: Deciduous Forest