Hand Held Hubble: Paper Model
About This Product
Caption
Make a scale model of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope using easy-to-find supplies and our printable materials.
This model is not a working telescope – you can’t peer at the sky with it. But it can give you an up-close look at the telescope’s structure, and a challenging project to engage your model-making skills.
- Difficulty: Average-to-Difficult
- Durability: Delicate
- Detail: Moderate
This paper model is designed to be built of card stock and construction paper. It consists of about 30 pieces and can take approximately four to eight hours to build. The model is to scale and includes a three-dimensional optical telescope assembly equipment section.
This model reflects the state of the telescope after Servicing Mission 3B, which took place in March 2002.
DOWNLOADS AND SUPPLIES
Print out the downloadable PDF files of both the Directions and the Pattern Sheets. The Pattern Sheets must be printed out on card stock or cover-weight paper, but the directions can be printed on regular paper. In addition to these printouts, you will also need supplies from your local craft or hobby shop.
Supplies:
– Model pattern printed onto card stock/cover-stock
– Instructions printed on regular paper
– White or clear craft glue and/or a glue stick
– Sharp scissors
– 1/8" wooden dowel
– Medium-weight sandpaper
– Black construction paper
– Ruler, preferably with a metal edge
– Pencil
– Black marker or paint and paintbrush
– Silver or gray paint
Optional Supplies:
– Butter knife or flat-head screwdriver
– Flat toothpicks or small paintbrush (for applying glue)
– Glue stick (make sure it’s not "reposition-able")
– Sharp craft knife and cutting board
– Aluminum foil (or some other shiny material)
– Black, silver, or gray paint
– Paper towels or moist towelettes to keep your hands clean
– Aerosol acrylic clear coat or sealant
See the Directions for complete printing instructions and supplies.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
This model requires the use of sharp instruments. Please exercise caution when making this model, and supervise children who attempt this model.
PRINTING THE PATTERN SHEET
You may need to adjust your printer options in order to print the Pattern Sheet at the correct size. Look at the bottom of each page for the gauge that allows you to check the printout’s scale. (You will need a ruler.) If it doesn’t measure up, make the following adjustments in the Print dialog box:
– If you’re using Adobe Reader 6 or higher, set "Page Scaling" to "None."
– If you’re using Acrobat 5, deselect "Shrink Oversized Pages" to "Paper Size and Expand Small Pages to Paper."
– If you’re using Acrobat 4, deselect "Fit to Page."
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Ton Noteboom describes himself as a “space age kid.” Growing up in the Netherlands, he followed the progress of the space program, hearing about Sputnik on the radio, and watching Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the Moon. But what really fascinated him was the technology – the technology that got the astronauts to the Moon, the technology that brought the journey back to people around the world.
“The force of the rockets, the hardware part – that was what interested me,” he said. “It was amazing to see pictures on the television screen, especially in that time, that came all the way from the Moon.”
He got his first cardboard model of a boat when he was 11 years old, as a present from Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of Santa Claus. The model joined his already extensive collection of plastic models, but after a short time that phase gave way to a period of model-train building that he shared with his father. And that was it until the day about five years ago, surfing the Web, that he started finding plans for elaborate paper models online.
Lured by nostalgia, and with both training in silversmithing and job experience in construction engineering under his belt, Noteboom thought he’d give the paper models another shot. “I said, ‘Well, let’s try it,’ and it stuck,” he said. When he couldn’t find a model of the Saturn V rocket, he decided to design his own. “I didn’t start with an easy one,” he noted wryly. “You just put your teeth together and go. It took a lot of patience, paper , ink and time. It’s fascinating to see a model taking shape.”
His love of technology and engineering is evident in both the level of detail and the painstaking attention to structure and precise construction in the 35 paper models Noteboom has designed and shared online with the world. One of the greatest compliments he’s received, he says, is from a model builder that praised the way everything about his models “fit together.”
The allure lies in constructing something three-dimensional out of a flat piece of paper, Noteboom said. “It’s intriguing to make something very sturdy out of something that isn’t. I treat the piece of paper as a piece of metal, though metal is easier because you can shape it into intricate forms. With paper you can’t.”
In addition to designing paper models, Noteboom is a licensed radio amateur hobbyist specializing in television transmissions. He lives in the small village of Rozenburg, near Rotterdam, with three cats, and handles facility operations at a local school.
Credits
PRODUCER:
NASA, STScI
3D DESIGNER/MODELER:
Ton
Noteboom