A sense of scale

Join us as we explore the magic of miniature. 

Model: a three-dimensional representation of a structure or object, typically at a smaller scale than the original. 

Models provide valuable insights into the complexity and scale of our world. They help us better understand objects, structures and living creatures. 

As children, we spend hours constructing worlds in miniature, limited only by the extent of our imagination. As adults, we’re endlessly curious about the way scale can be manipulated to represent aspects of the natural world, the built environment and our lived-in world. 

Over time, model-making has evolved into both a functional craft and an art form, with some models becoming significant cultural objects.  

Join the Powerhouse Museum and City of Sydney curator Margaret Betteridge as we discover remarkable models from the museum’s collection and the City of Sydney’s civic collection. Learn how models – and the artisans behind their creation – are essential tools in fields ranging from architecture and engineering to television production, transport and climate change research. 

Image: Architectural models of King Street made by Jack Montgomery. Gift of the City of Sydney, 1990.