Build your own ACE Satellite

Advanced Model
Beginners Model
Classroom Model with Lesson Plan

Advanced Model -- 1/16 scale

This model was designed with the intermediate to advanced builder in mind. A simplified model, suitable for beginners, is available below.

To make this model, you will need:

• The Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in (which you can download from Adobe's site if you do not have it yet);
• 8 sheets of cardstock, or some thin cardboard on which to glue regular paper;
• A craft knife (like an X-acto or equivalent) and/or a pair of good paper scissors;
• A sturdy ruler;
• A glue stick (or some other form of low-moisture glue, which will not cause the paper to buckle);
• A cutting mat or a sheet of thick cardboard, to keep the craft knife from damaging your furniture;
• An adult's supervision (if you have not used a craft knife or scissors before);
• About 4-8 hours (consecutive or broken up) of time to assemble the model.

To Build the ACE Model:

1. Down load the Acrobat Reader plug-in if you have not already done so.
2. Download the files below:
• ACE Fact Sheet (112 K)
• ACE Paper Model Instructions (188 K)
• ACE Paper Model Parts Sheets (352 K)
3. Print out the instructions on regular or scrap paper (if it's not convenient to stay by your computer while you assemble the model), and print the model parts on cardstock (available at office supply stores) or on regular paper which you will glue to cardboard -- the cardboard from an empty cereal box will work just fine.
4. Read through the instructions carefully before cutting anything out; this will save you a lot of heartache in the long run.
5. Have fun learning about the ACE satellite, while you build a very detailed 1/16 scale model!

Beginners Model -- approximately 1/32 scale

This model was designed with the beginning builder in mind. A more complicated model, suitable for those who have more experience, is available above.

To make this model, you will need:

• The Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in -- version 3.0 is best -- which you can download from Adobe's site if you do not have it yet;
• 2 sheets of cardstock, or some thin cardboard on which to glue regular paper;
• A pair of good paper scissors;
• A sturdy ruler;
• A glue stick (or some other form of low-moisture glue, which will not cause the paper to buckle);
• An adult's supervision;
• About one hour of time (probably less) to assemble the model.

To Build the ACE Model:

1. Down load the Acrobat Reader plug-in if you have not already done so.
2. Download the fact sheet (112 K); the instructions (76 K) and the ACE Paper Model Parts Sheets with minimal shading (160 K) OR the ACE Paper Model Parts Sheets with fancy grayscale shading and built-in instructions (313 K)
3. Print out the instructions on regular or scrap paper (if it's not convenient to stay by your computer while you assemble the model), and print the model parts on cardstock (available at office supply stores) or on regular paper which you will glue to cardboard -- the cardboard from an empty cereal box will work just fine.
4. Read through the instructions carefully before cutting anything out
5. Have fun and learn about the ACE satellite while you build a 1/32 scale model!

Classroom-sized Model -- 1/8 scale

This model was designed for use with this lesson plan, which was field-tested by science teacher Brent Baker at Sunapee Middle High School during the week of March 8-12. The results are in, and will be presented (as a poster) at the American Geophysical Union Spring Meeting on 1 June. The poster is now also available in HTML. However, if you would just like to build a very large scale model of ACE, this is the one for you: it will measure 68 cm across (without MAG booms) and approximately 30 cm in height when finished. It is somewhat easier to assemble than the 1/16 scale model, simply because the complicated pieces are larger, but since the perimeter increases by 41% when you double something's area (thanks, Steve), it will take longer to cut everything out.

To make this model, you will need:

• The Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in (which you can download from Adobe's site if you do not have it yet);
• 24 sheets of cardstock, or lots of thin cardboard on which to glue regular paper;
• A pair of good paper scissors for curves;
• A craft knife with replacement blades (as you will probably go through more than one);
• A sturdy ruler;
• A glue stick (or some other form of low-moisture glue, which will not cause the paper to buckle);
• Optional: a piece of foam board, about 20x20 cm, to sandwich between the layers of the -Z panels, and some 0.5 cm wide, flat balsa wood (or coffee stirrers, or heavy wire) to act as a stiffener for the solar panels and MAG booms;
• Several hours of time to assemble the model.

To Build the Large ACE Model:

1. Download the Acrobat Reader plug-in if you have not already done so.
2. Download the files below:
   ACE Fact Sheet (112 K)
   ACE Paper Model Instructions (188 K)
   ACE Paper Model Parts Sheets (548 K)
3. Print out the instructions on regular or scrap paper (if it's not convenient to stay by your computer while you assemble the model), and print the model parts on cardstock (available at office supply stores) or on regular paper which you will glue to cardboard -- the cardboard from an empty cereal box will work just fine, but keep in mind you will need a lot of it.
4. Read through the instructions carefully before cutting anything out; this will save you a lot of heartache in the long run.
5. Have fun learning about the ACE satellite, while you build a very detailed 1/8 scale model!