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16 around school Model Students Around School On Monday afternoons, middle school visual arts teacher Russell Harris' art room buzzes with focused intensity as the members of his model-making club concentrate on the minute details that go into assembling the wings of an A-10 Warthog war plane or the turret of a T-34 Soviet World War II tank. e modelers work with tiny pieces, brushes and glue. ey are required to wait patiently at each step for the most recent addition to dry while at the same time evaluating what should come next. It is quiet, focused work. Model making as a hobby has become a bit of a lost art since its heyday in the 60s and 70s, when it didn't compete against computer games and technology, and Harris admits that the club doesn't have a mass appeal. Currently about a half dozen students come regularly. But for kids who love to build and create, it is an activity that can teach invaluable skills, he insists. "Following directions, paying attention to detail, using fine motor skills are all important aspects of model building," said Harris. Watching students commit to the slow and sometimes-painstaking process and then seeing the excitement they feel when they successfully have put together an exact replica are the rewards of offering the club each year. It is his own childhood experience with model making that compels Harris to share Middle school art teacher Russell Harris assists fifth grader Ben Martinez '22 with his fighter jet. 16 around school around school