Need ideas for an MR presentation to school-aged kids

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

On December 17th, I am scheduled to give a 2-hour presentation about model railroading to a bunch of home-schooled kids, ages 7-12. [Please don’t ask me how I found myself in this situation!] I tried to get a speaker thru WorldsGreatestHobby but never heard back from them, so I guess I’m on my own.

I want to show that MR’ing is a 3-dimensional art form, MUCH MORE than simply playing with toy trains (nothing against you tinplaters and collectors, please understand!). There are lots of Keller layout videos to prove this point. At the same time, however, I DO NOT want to overwhelm the kids into thinking they have to spend megabuck$ on a huge layout of their own.

Anybody is welcome to respond, but I especially would like to hear from some of you younger [read: teen-aged] modelers who are space- and money-challenged: what is it that keeps you interested in the hobby? I’ll incorporate your answers into my presentation.

Here’s my own adolescent modeling experience: I spent whatever money I could earn on locos and rolling stock, and joined a club [the BSME in Baltimore, MD] where I could hang out with other modelers once or twice a week and run my trains on their layout. During the week I would paint/detail a piece of motive power or rolling stock, and I couldn’t wait until that Friday operating night when I could show-off the results of my work to the other club members. This made the hobby fun and affordable for me.

2

Hello, I was thrown in pretty much the same situation, but is was for a church Father & son banquet, anyway, I took different scale engines and some different era cars, some magizines and reference books,I took some buildings in different stages of modeling, I wrote out a cscript and practiced it a few times before I got there, if you have a diaroma (which would be great) have fun with it, you might even get a new modelrailroader from it, have a question & answer time also.

3

I was a Scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts for 8 years and also the Railroading Merit Badge councilor…we had a "hobby night " at the meetings once a year and what i did was build a “hands on” switching display…all you need are a few buildings,three turnouts, some flex track, 5 cars, a loco, and a power pack…I built the board to an 8’ x 1 1/2’ layout…the train would be parked , coupled together, and the kids had to switch the rolling stock to the different destinations…5 cars to 5 locations…I used a couple of platform loading docks for two of the destinations, a lumber company, an oil tank, and a section of a coal mine for the 5 destinations, I then took a sheet of paper and drew the track plan on it , labeled the rolling stock, and labeled the destinations that each car was to be delivered to on the paper and instructed them what to do and the kids had to switch the rolling stock to the 5 different destinations…it was a big hit…i couldn’t get the scouts to leave the building after the meeting was over because they were having so much fun taking turns switching the rolling stock on the small layout…it cost me under $50.00 to build not counting the power pack, buildings, rolling stock and loco which i already had…I used Atlas #4 turnouts and atlas under the table switch machines which are not all that expensive…Chuck

4

Perhaps a recap of the HO display of the www.msichicago.org Click on exhibits, then great train story.

It’s a great story for kids too. I think Dave Harrison who is a multi forum member can gave you some great ideas since he get’s a lot of kid field trips to the Museum.

5

I was going to suggest a Timesaver switching layout. You suggestion is better[:D]

Maybe you can get some car kits donated (like Athearn) and have the kids build them

6

I did a presentation to my son’s school last year. I took the approach of showing how model RR is relevent to all the things they do in school:

  1. Art
  2. Shop
  3. Electronics and electricity
  4. Geography
  5. History
  6. Economics/Commerce
  7. Computers
    etc.

I illustrated the connections with models and slides and we had a good time.

I also talked about the life skills developed as a result of model RR.

Saving money for a new loco
Patience
Persistence
Research skills
etc

It is a great topic for kids

Have fun

7

Here’s an idea.

Maybe some of us can contribute a product.
Cars, engine beater, unused bldg kit.

Why not? It’s our turn.

8

Also The Worlds Greatest Hobby has a movie"Building your first model railroad."
You have two choices here, rent it from your local library or I will send you a copy.

There’s also a computerized software operating train program, but I forget the name of it.,Simulator or something like that.

9

I’m one of the outlets your looking for, I’m a 13 year old in the hobby. I’ll try to answer you questions as best I can.

What keeps me here? Well one of the main things is the fun of it all. I have a medium size layout, thanks to the graces of my parents, a 8x16 L-shaped, and I like the idea of building and controling my own little world. I can do anything I want with it, and I enjoy the idea of control a small town economy with my railroad. I also get a kick out of running the equipment and imagining it as the real thing.

Money restrictions? Well, I’m fortunate to make a fairly good amount of money doing odd jobs for my Parents. I still have to be carefull on what I spend though. I find Blue Box engines and kits the best choice for my amount of money. I can find engines at train shows for 30 a peice, and Car kits from anywhere from 5-10 dollars at shows and the LHS. Like I said, I am quite fortunate, as I get a slightly large income than most kids my age, but I still have to buy economically.

I also used to make buildings out of cardboard and masking tape, and a little cheap craft paint, and they come out decent enough to pass. There much like cardboard mock-ups.

Let me know if you have any more questions I can answer, and feel free to e-mail me at hofrichter@jvlnet.com as I’d love to help get other kids my age interested in the hobby.

Noah H.

10

Simon has the right idea for teaching. Some schools use this method, calling it the “whole language” theory of education, attempting to teach all subjects on one event or whatever. That is what Simon did and is a great way of getting the attention of a bunch of people who have different interests. On some forum I suggested 12-inch to the foot railroad clubs need to spend more time in school and a little less on their locomotives since the only way to keep steam going is to recruit the younger generation. I’ve applied to my son’s scout troop to be a railroad merit badge counselor. I’m going to get them to build my L-shaped Atlas layout which I will then offer to neighbors to run on Saturday mornings to promote the hobby.
Jock Ellis
Jock Ellis

11

How about a modern day layout? This reminds the kids of what they actually see while travel down the freeway or something. Instead of a 1950’s layout where they have never seen a train like the super cheif before. Or the old steamers from the 1700’s, that doesn’t even really look like a train to them.

12

How many kids are you talking about? Maybe a good place to start your program is with a little talk about real trains. Start with what real trains do. Maybe grab some material online from Operation Lifesaver. That should kill a half hour.

What kind of media player do you have available, sldes, DVD, video? After the first half hour, move on to the idea of modeling. Talk about scale, talk about electricity. I like the idea of the timesaver. If the group is small enough, they could all have a turn.

What kind of materials do you have access to? This is kind of like trying to find a recipe to make dinner from things in your pantry.

13

I’d try to start with material from Operation Lifesaver. They should be able to help you with some nice handouts and some activities for the kids. Someday a child may save their parent from making a fatal error at a crossing. You should also do a little research & see how close the school is to a track. Some people take chances by crossing track or throwing objects at the trains.

If you do a “show & tell” you can have a variety of equipment from steam to diesel, passenger & freight. You will also want to show the relative sizes of different scales. On the Atlas website, there’s a great shot of an O scale car with an HO scale car on top. THe picture needs an N scale car, to cover the 3 most popular scales.

Most of the kids should be familiar with Thomas from PBS. If you look at the modeling done for those shows, it’s quite good!

14

Thanx, all of you who have replied so far… Here are some more specifics:

  1. Group size = ~50 kids (some parents will also be sitting in)

  2. Place= Church basement

  3. AV Equipment=VCR+TV [and maybe my laptop computer for hands-on?]

Regarding a layout, I plan to build several small modules (not following any NMRA standards) for ease of transport, with scenery at varying stages of completion. Dogbone routing configuration, hoping to include a few turnouts on larger sections. No DCC - I want to try to keep this thing simple! - but will use DCC-upgradable loco[s].

15

There was an article, not to long ago, in MR that showed a “How to make a layout for under $500”. you could do that layout and explain to the kids how easy it was to build and then have another showing an improvement over it and show them how they can take the “Under $500” one, and over time make it into the improved.

16

I am about to become a history teacher (if I stop messing around on this forum and get back to my homework). I would talk some about researching railroads and about selective compression.
The way scenes and equipment are selected on a layout to represent reality are a little like the way life is represented in movies and fiction. Selected to tell an interesting story with some parts left and others emphasized to get a point across.
You might not want to use the phrase “hierachies of organization” with kids, but that is one thing model railroads show.

Re history. I researched a WW2 Navy blimp base at Hitchcock Texas 250 miles from where I live as the basis of a portable layout. When 90% finished, I visited that town on Thanksgiving vacation, went to see if there was a local libray or museum there might be a place to display the layout for a week or two when it was finished. At the local museum, they told me “No, you can’t wait until your display is finished. You need to leave it RIGHT NOW.” The 50th anniversary of the Navy blimp base was one week away and the town planned a reunion of veterans.
They had veterans come, and a display or old newspapers and photos and uniforms. But the 3-D model similar to the base, with a running train, turned out to be the hit of the show. They had busloads of school kids come to the library over several days. Wish I had been able to be there, but I was glad my layout was there.

See photos at http://www.railimages.com/gallery/kennethanthony

17

I haven’t read through all the replies to this topic, so I may be giving ideas that were already presented, but my idea would be: If you have a well-sceniced portable layout or diorama you can take, take it to show what can be done in the hobby. If you don’t, use the videos you mentioned. At the same time, mention that you can afforably start in the hobby with sets and inexpenive locos, cars, materials, etc. Perhaps have an example of this too. Research some clubs in the area and list them and their addresses or websites on a pamphlet. You could also list some local hobby shops or the web addresses of the major online retailers so they know where to go to get the stuff.

If parents are present, point out some of the educational opportunities that they could get out of it… researching eras gone by, geographic regions, etc…

Christmas is coming up, so it’s a great time to get kids interested in MRing and have them asking their parents for the stuff.

18

This is a hobby that brings great enjoyment to me and any display should show the models operating in some fashion and your attitude should also be real like I would guess it is. Kids are great about knowing if you are really excited about the hobby or just showing up to do a presentation. I am not saying put on a certain face for this presentation, but if you don’t have the presentation uplifting and interesting, you will not get them excited about the hobby.

19

Wow Ken, that’s a pretty good sized group. With parents, you could be pushing 70+. This is a perfect opportunity to “sell train sets” . You have a receptive audience, just before Christmas!!! The trick is to not make it look like you are trying to sell, make them want to buy!!

Since this is a group of home schoolers, and the adults are present, the focus of your message should be that model railroading is a fun way to learn about EVERYTHING.

Try not to get too technical or fancy, stick to the basics. You shouldn’t even say DCC, much too abstract a concept. Your modules should have a complete loop to run a train, and if one of them could be a timesaver that fit into the loop, that would be all you would need.

Just to let you know, I have worked in hobby stores for a number of years. I even have a video on how to build a train layout, and would be happy to send you a copy.

20

7-12 implies 2nd to 7th. (or GRADESCHOOL) 50+adults is a big audience. It could be difficult, but try to make SURE it is a HANDS ON EXPERIENCE for the kids. Adults will follow. RUNNING and SWITCHING GAMES are indeed a plus.

Put out models, (cars, buildings, & industries) the kids can RESPOND to. What is the industry in your area; Lumbering, mining, manufacturing, agraculture,etc? show LOCAL business, and cars they can respond to. IE; some consumer product brands. When we have open house at our club, we park WONDER BREAD and KELLOGS at the grain elevator that people comming in the door first see. Maybe you can mimmic local RR scenes. - bridges, etc. Also, you may want a variety of motive power: old woodburners for Civil War Railroads, Coal portraying WW I era, models of troop trains showing WW II, and Modern Deisels for today’s Unit trains. If the adults attending have any unusual RR experiences, - Riding on the Observation or Dome Cars, Eating in the Diner, Sleeping in the Sleeper, or unusual photos, etc, recruit/conscript them for additional naration/experiences. I would try to break up into groups of less than 10 - those are more managable. Get the Students involved and interactive. When I was in upper grade school, the trains were vanishing, and our class actually went for a train ride for the experience. This is something to think about for another class.
Note which groups respond best to what elements of the program.

Be sure to give them an exposure to Model RR from RTR, Shake-the-Box, laser, craftsman, and scratchbuilding. Even (gasp!!) Scratch building Brass!! (if you can!)
Keep some of the samples simple, so (especially) scratchbuilding seems possible., and all can participate, no matter what their skill levels.

If you are also responsible for lunch, feed them from menus and cookbooks from the railroad dining cars and work camps. I know of a couple of kids who were purswaded to try Suffed Zuchini because it was served on the San