Make an Edible Model of an Animal Cell
To better understand the animal cell, and to help remember all of its parts, do this fun science activity.
Materials :
1 tupperware about 2½ to 3 inches high
1 jaw breaker
4 lemon drops/ gumdrops
6 brown milk chocolate m&ms
3 blue peanut m&ms (if you are allergic to nuts, regular m&ms are fine)
2 sticks of chewing gum
6 pieces of rock candy
3 smooth gummy worms
3 licorice laces
Sugar
1 pack of gelatin in a light color (lemon or lime do well)
Instructions:
1. Ask an adult to help you make the gelatin. Once it's liquid, cooled, and ready to be poured, pour it into your tupperware.
2. Using your fingers (so make sure the gelatin isn't too hot), begin arranging the parts of your cell.
3. Your jaw breaker is the nucleus. It should be near the middle of your tupperware, but off to one side a bit.
4. Your lemon drops are the mitochondrion (put these a bit away from your nucleus), your brown m&ms are lysosomes while your blue m&ms are vacuoles. One of the vacuoles should be a bit near your nucleus. The 6 pieces of rock candy are ribosomes, these should be at the edge of the tupperware.
5. Take the two sticks of chewing gum and fold each piece three times onto itself, like you're curling the gum. One way to do this is to shape the gum into a letter 's' and then press down on the 's.' Don't press down too hard, you want to show that the gum has been folded. Stick the two pieces together gently and put it in the gelatin near the nucleus, this is your Golgi apparatus.
6. Your gummi worms are your smooth endoplasmic reticulum while your licorice laces are the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Remember to curl them around so they fit and place them next to each other and beside the nucleus.
7. Place the tupperware into the freezer or refrigerator so the gelatin can harden and trap the candy inside it. Ask for help when you put it in the freezer so the organelles of your animal cell do not move.
8. Once hardened, study your gelatin. Do you still remember which parts are which?
This science activity allows you to prepare a tasty treat while learning about animal cells. Be sure you remember what each part of the animal cell does, and keep your gelatin animal cell in mind every time you study. It will help you remember the parts of the cell as well as where each organelle is located. Remember, don't eat the candy all at once!
Next Article: The r/K Selection Theory
