GeologyRocks

Hello, brand new to this site.  I'm close to completing my undergraduate and need to conduct a senior research.  For my university it can be anything from a field study to document reviews.  But I like to have some hand on fun.  Since I'm on an internship, a field study is out of the question so instead I have this idea rolling around in my head.  So my question to all of you is can any of you think of a way to replicate/model crustal movement over the mantle, including spreading and collisions which could be adjusted to fit multiple theories?  The kicker is this would be a physical model, so food coloring and corstarch all the way (or preferably something that won't mold).  Size not an issue this is a brain storm session.