Parts of Animals
You may need the help of an adult, but try doing this biology science fair project by yourself!
Materials
1 liter of water
flour or white glue
2 tbsp. oil of cloves
newspaper, cut into strips
bendable wires or China flexible wires
paint brushes
toxic free, non water based paint
Instructions
Choose an animal to recreate. You can look online for an animal you'd like to make, make sure to lists its parts and their uses.
Choose between an animal and plant cell. You can also look online for the parts of the cells.
Using bendable wires, create the shape of your animal of choice, as well as your cell of choice. Try making it as detailed as you can.
In a large plastic container, pour in the water. Start putting in flour or white glue into the water, while mixing it to make sure the mixture is even. Keep adding the flour or white glue until you get a thick or heavy cream like consistency.
Put in two tablespoons of clove oil. This will keep the paper-mache from developing mold later on.
Once you've gotten the cream consistency, you can begin dipping your strips of newspaper into the mixture, and placing these strips onto your wire molds to form the shapes of the animal or cells. If the paper is too wet and breaks when you put it on the mold, you can also place the paper on the mold first and then brush the mixture onto the paper after. Be sure to use at least three layers of paper in each area to make sure the mold will be sturdy.
When the paper dries, you will have a hard mold to work with.
Paint the mold in colors you want, but make sure to make distinctions for the different parts of the animal and the cell.
Concept Explanation
After the paint has dried, you'll be able to present the molds to your class or the fair so that they can also learn about the different parts of the animal and cell you chose. When trying to be detailed in your mold making, study a cell or animal from the Internet. For example, many cells are circular, the nucleus is also circular and will be inside the cell circle. Other structures like the mitochondria, are easily formed with bendable wires. Just be sure to distinguish the different parts with different colors of paint! Depending on the animal you choose and how detailed you can be, this biology science fair project can be a winner!
