The first day of Modeling Your World began with an activity led by Wendy. Each student was given a name tag that they could not see but everybody else could. The goal was to figure out the name you were given by asking the other students yes or no questions. This showed the students that they can ask good questions that narrow down what the name can be.

Next, the students discussed how scientists work by gathering data, making observations and perform experiments. The students then learned how computational science is also useful to scientist. JP, one of the interns leading the workshop, then introduced Exel® to the students and how it can be used to model.

Lastly, the students studied galaxies and how they can be modeled using computers. The students specifically worked with a program called GalaxSee to model different shapes of galaxies and how they act over long periods of time. To finish, they introduced black holes to the galaxies and saw how they can affect things.