Choose the message
Sort the signs by purpose: naming a place, giving directions, or drawing attention to something. Can one sign do more than one job?
Communication & place
Give the miniature yard its signs
Use red-and-white signs to identify Louisville Fire Brick Works and make a miniature yard easier to understand.
Created by the Restoring What Was Lost History Workshop
- Experience
- Good first build
- Estimated build time
- 15–30 minutes for a small set, plus drying
- Finished size
- Assorted signs in approximate 1:36 scale
- Who it’s for
- Grades 4–8 and families
Free educational use. Times are estimates; allow extra time for drying, practice, and younger builders.
Before you build
Set up your worktable.
- Two model pages, printed on cardstock or paper
- Scissors, a ruler, and a blunt scoring tool
- Paper glue
- Scrap card or small posts for optional mounted signs
The build, at a glance
From flat paper to a small piece of history.
Use these stages to plan your work alongside the instructions inside the model PDF.
Choose each sign’s place
Look through both sheets. Decide which signs will go on a building or post and which folded signs will stand by themselves.
Make the flat signs
Cut around the rectangles on page one. Glue them to walls, thin card, or small posts. For the railroad crossing, overlap the two strips into an X before mounting.
Prepare a standing sign
On page two, score the three blue dashed lines before cutting the outer rectangle. One printed face is upside down so both sides read correctly after folding.
Close its triangular base
Fold both sign faces outward, bring the base underneath, and glue the tab inside the opposite end. Let it dry, then check that visitors can read it from both sides.
Look closer
How can a few words help someone understand a place?
Test readability
Place a sign in the model and view it from a visitor’s angle. What changes if it is too small, too low, or hidden behind a building?
Separate fact and design
The company name and colors were supplied for this project. What photograph or document would you need before calling a sign an exact historical reproduction?
A 45-minute learning session
Spend 5 minutes noticing the model, 10 minutes exploring the historical context, 20 minutes on a first building stage or measurement activity, and 10 minutes sharing observations. Plan additional sessions for finishing longer builds. The teacher handout includes a lesson plan and learner pages.
The model and the evidence
Keep the history in view.
The Louisville Fire Brick Works name and red-and-white colors were supplied for this community project. These are historically inspired miniature signs, not verified reproductions of original company signs. Their wording and placement give learners a way to think about communication in a working yard.
Explore the brickmaking storyKeep building
Add another piece to your scene.
Created by the Restoring What Was Lost History Workshop. You’re welcome to print copies for classrooms, family activities, and community displays.