This study was motivated by the low critical thinking skills of fifth-grade students in science learning, particularly on the topic of the respiratory system. Students still had difficulty analyzing problems, providing appropriate reasons, and connecting concepts with real-life situations. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of implementing the Project Based Learning model supported by diorama media in improving the critical thinking skills of fifth-grade students at SDN 1 Mejobo on the respiratory system topic. The study employed a quantitative approach using a one-group pretest–posttest design to measure changes in students’ abilities before and after the treatment. The research subjects consisted of 23 fifth-grade students. The instrument used was a critical thinking skills test administered before and after the treatment. The data were analyzed using the Shapiro–Wilk test, Paired Sample t-Test, and N-Gain test.The results showed a significant difference between the scores before and after the treatment. The mean pretest score of 38.8696 increased to 75.0000 in the posttest. Based on the results of the Paired Sample t-Test, a significance value of 0.001 (0.001 < 0.005) was obtained, indicating that H₀ was rejected and H₁ was accepted. These findings indicate that the average critical thinking ability in science learning after the implementation of the Project Based Learning model assisted by diorama media was significantly higher than before the treatment. The improvement in students’ critical thinking ability, indicated by an N-Gain score of 0.5952, was categorized as moderate, showing that the implementation of the model was fairly effective. Abstrak Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh rendahnya kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa kelas V pada pembelajaran IPAS, khususnya materi sistem pernapasan. Siswa masih kesulitan menganalisis permasalahan, memberikan alasan yang tepat, dan menghubungkan konsep dengan situasi nyata. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis efektivitas penerapan model Project Based Learning yang didukung media diorama dalam meningkatkan kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa kelas V SDN 1 Mejobo pada materi sistem pernapasan. Penelitian dilaksanakan dengan pendekatan kuantitatif menggunakan rancangan one-group pretest–posttest untuk mengukur perubahan kemampuan siswa sebelum dan sesudah perlakuan. Subjek penelitian terdiri atas 23 siswa kelas V. Instrumen yang digunakan berupa tes kemampuan berpikir kritis yang diberikan sebelum dan sesudah perlakuan. Data dianalisis menggunakan uji Shapiro–Wilk test, Paired Sample t-Test, dan uji N-Gain. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya perbedaan yang signifikan antara skor sebelum dan sesudah perlakuan. Rata-rata nilai pretest sebesar 38,8696 meningkat menjadi 75,0000 pada posttest. Berdasarkan hasil uji Paired Sample t-Test, diperoleh nilai signifikansi sebesar 0,001 (0,001 < 0,005), sehingga H₀ ditolak dan H₁ diterima. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa rata-rata kemampuan berpikir kritis IPAS siswa setelah diterapkan model Project Based Learning berbantuan media diorama lebih tinggi dibandingkan sebelum perlakuan. Nilai peningkatan kemampuan berpikir kritis IPAS sebesar 0,5952 berada pada kategori sedang dan menunjukkan bahwa penerapan model tersebut cukup efektif.