Design a home that works for people and place

Build a model home, test one feature at a time — insulation, windows, orientation — and log what actually kept it warm.

Open: Model design name, feature tested, and temperature readings. · School: Ecohome & Design inquiry world

Contribute now →Setup guide School inquiry world

Why your contribution matters

Every home is a design decision — how it holds warmth, catches sun, and uses materials. A model you actually test, one feature at a time, teaches more than any picture of a finished house.

Your class, to design and fair-test a model home (Ecohome & Design).
Other schools building models, comparing which features made the biggest difference.
Whānau and local builders interested in what actually keeps a home warm.

Community missions

Pick a mission for your class, your family or a group of schools.

Insulation showdown
Does adding insulation really change the temperature? Prove it with two identical models.
1. Build two identical model boxes.
2. Insulate one, leave the other bare.
3. Leave both outside together and compare indoor temperature.
Sun-facing test
Does which way a window faces change how warm a room gets?
1. Build one model, two window positions to test one at a time.
2. Record temperature at the same time each day.
3. Change only the window position between tests.
Materials challenge
Cardboard, foam, or wood: which wall material holds warmth best?
1. Build three small boxes, same size, different wall material.
2. Warm each the same way (e.g. same lamp, same time).
3. Compare how fast each one cools down.

For teachers and schools: work together

Design partners: swap model photos with another class and guess which feature they changed before they tell you.
Agree a 'same test' card — same box size, same thermometer position — so results can be compared fairly.
Invite whānau or a local builder to see your models and explain your evidence.

Take it further: bigger NZ projects

Science Learning Hub: citizen science
Many more NZ projects your class can join, with teacher guides.

Share observations, not people: no names, no faces, no home addresses. A place nickname and region are enough.

Where KāingaLab fits in the curriculum

The platform for Ecohome & Design, where fair tests of materials and functional home models come together.

KāingaLab's open log records model-home fair tests — one feature changed at a time, indoor and outdoor temperature compared. Its full ecohome design unit for this world is still being built.

Ecohome & DesignEcohome & Design“How can we design a home that works for people and place?”Make & Test: Build a functional model to test material and construction choices before committing to a final design.Explore the world

Platforms are developed in response to curriculum and inquiry requirements, not the reverse.

How it works

Design → Build → Test → Compare

Design
Sketch one home feature to test — insulation, glazing, or orientation.
Build
Card, foam, or a kit model — consistent size across versions.
Test
Compare indoor and outdoor temperature under similar conditions.
Compare
One feature changed at a time — trace what mattered across versions.

Read the full setup guide →

Show, don't just tell

Example model test

Design: Shoebox model v2
Feature: Insulation material
Indoor/outdoor: 24°C / 14°C

One feature changed from version 1 — insulation added, everything else the same.

Borrowed from MaramaTrap's example-photo pattern — works for every platform.

Designing for people and place

Passive solar, insulation, and materials all change how a home behaves — these ideas help you read your results.

Passive solar
Orientation to the sun changes indoor temperature without using any power.
Insulation
Slows heat moving in or out — the difference shows up as a smaller indoor/outdoor gap.
Fair tests
Change one feature, keep everything else the same, compare like with like.

Good to know

One change at a time
Changing insulation and orientation together means you can't tell which one mattered.
Design versions matter
Your third model teaches more than your first — the record of what changed is the evidence.

Also try community science

The same fair-testing habits work across platforms — honest notes, repeat visits, no street addresses.

All four platforms →