The Water Cycle: A Model

This video shows my real project and how it demonstrates the seven main steps of the water cycle.

I did this project because I had an idea. My idea was to make a working model of the water cycle. I was inspired by the engineering process itself, and with some books I had read about the water cycle. I also learned a few interesting things while making this. For example, less than 1% of all water is safe to drink. The project is about the water cycle, but the model is the experiment. The question I really wanted to answer was "Can I make this?" I think that even knowing about the water cycle is a great thing, because it is one of the building blocks of what makes this world habitable to humans. We all need to protect the water cycle, and water in general.

There was much trial and error to make this project work. I focused my research on the water cycle itself, and used that knowledge to design and build this. I had to find out the seven main steps that are illustrated in the project, and information about those steps. The materials I used were a plastic bin, an electric cooktop, cookie sheets, cardboard, tinfoil, hot glue, scrap plastic, and paint.

On my first attempt the water wouldn't condense because too much steam was escaping. I tried several 'steam guards', as I called them, but the best one was laminated paper. Initially, I thought I would make the hill out of air-dry clay, but it cracked after I made it. Aluminum foil was a better material, and I learned how to paint and lacquer it. There were also problems with the cookie sheet on top, as the water wouldn't travel along it like I thought it would. I went from using two cookie sheets to one, and I positioned ice packs on top of the cookie sheet where I wanted the water to drip.

Testing was a long and arduous process. The best part was making it look good! It was worth the time and effort.

Through testing, I found out that it is very hard to make it a closed system. In order to have made a truly closed system, my model would have had to have no gaps or cracks. I also found out that I need to be flexible. If your project will not work the way it is, then you need to change it . It often takes many iterations before you can find the right design. Engineering projects will not work every time. It takes creativity and endurance to make your idea a reality.

Through research, I found out that the water cycle is changing, through human interference: global warming, littering, creating new channels, waterways, rivers, and lakes, not to mention plumbing and running water systems. My project shows the natural water cycle in its simplest form, but with everything that has been going on for hundreds of years, it has changed. Not all of these changes are bad, though. Some are innovative solutions to big problems. However, we need to be aware, because we can't change the natural order of the world.

My project has room for improvement and growth. I could have done more work, trying to find a way to make it a closed system. I could also have run it for seven hours and seen if it cycled better. In the future, I would like to make it so that more people can learn about the water cycle, so that we can keep it safe.

Thank you to my mother, Rebecca Osborn, for ideas and help with making my project work, as well as keeping me on track when things got rough. Thank you also to my science teacher, Maddy Routliffe, for the use of materials and time, as well as making this whole trip possible. Thank you to Pooka, Isaiah, and Teresa for supporting me in the regionals. Thank you to Lucy Manilak for help with translation. Thank you to our school, Maani Ulayuk Illinarvik, for giving us the materials we needed, and to all of the people who helped support me and my project.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2026, February 5). The water cycle. Retrieved from https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/water-cycle

Apec Water. (2026). The Water Cycle Explained: 7 Steps of the Water Cycle and How it Affects You. Retrieved from https://www.apecwater.com/blogs/news/resource-water-cycle-student-guide?srsltid=AfmBOopU-RQIuF1lmLyAs3D4EmHPWOJiua89hnTxkdBbEVyayEYPwgbd

West Virginia Conservation Agency. (n.d.). The Hydrologic Cycle. Retrieved from https://www.wvca.us/wven/aquatics/a3.cfm