I recently came across this cool article in the September 2010 issue of Discover Magazine by Andrew Grant called "Virtual Everything." It discussed how computers are being used to model complex objects, such as burning fuel, earthquakes and our climate. The article has some very colorful photos of the computer generated models that might interest students. You can see a model of a supernova in the picture to the left. Models are used in research where direct scientific observation is difficult. The article's descriptions are short and make quick reading for students. I thought this would make a great homework assignment for my students, as we had just discussed the central idea of "What can be modeled?" in computer science. I assigned the article for homework and asked the students to also review the article on Wikipedia about computer modeling. Have your students read the article and then blog about their favorite model. I also encouraged my students to do some further research on a particular model and to present their findings to the class.

Discover Questions:
What is a computer model?
Why are they important for research?
Are computer games models?