How to Build a Plant Cell Project for High School
The plant cell differs from the animal cell in a few major ways--plant cells have a cell wall and chloroplasts while animal cells have neither. In order to solidify learning and emphasize the difference between the two, students can build a model of a plant cell. Building models encourages hands-on learning. This helps the student gain deeper understanding and better memory retention than textbooks alone. A cell model also helps the student visualize the cell and cell components in a 3-D manner not possible with reading alone.
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic container, square or rectangle in shape
- Water
- Stove or microwave
- Gelatin
- Plastic wrap
- Plastic bag
- Spoon
- Saucepan or microwave-safe glass
- Refrigerator
- Five different colors of clay
- Seed beads, any color
- One-foot section of yarn, any color
- Craft glue
- Small bowl
- Toothpicks
- Rolling pin
- Knife
- Scissors
Instructions
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1
Boil water on the stove. Use 3/4 the amount recommended on the gelatin package.
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2
Pour the gelatin mix into the hot water and stir until the gelatin mix is fully dissolved.
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3
Add an equal amount of cold water to the mix.
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4
Place a layer of clear plastic film inside the plastic box. This represents the cell membrane. Cut it large enough so there will be an extra inch on all sides that will extend out of the top of the box.
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5
Fill a small closeable plastic bag with water. Insert it in the cell to represent the vacuole.
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Pour the gelatin mix into the plastic box, making sure that it covers the "vacuole" and comes to one inch below the top of the box.
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Place the plastic box with the gelatin and water-filled bag into the refrigerator to harden for 45 minutes.
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8
Roll a ball of clay about the size of a plum. This will be the nucleus.
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9
Wrap the nucleus in plastic wrap to represent the nuclear membrane.
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10
Roll a small half-inch ball. This will represent the centrosome.
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Make five jellybean-shaped pieces of clay. Use a toothpick to create grooves in the surface. It should resemble a raisin when done. These represent the mitochondria.
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12
Roll flat a strip of clay. It should be one inch wide and five inches long. Fold the clay back and forth over itself, layering it. This will be the Golgi body.
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13
Cut a foot-long piece of yarn into two six-inch sections.
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Dip one section in the 50/50 glue/water mixture and then dip it into the seed beads. This section of yarn will be the rough endoplasmic reticulum, while the non-dipped section with be the smooth endoplasmic reticulum.
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15
Roll 12 half-inch balls of green clay.
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16
Flatten these balls to resemble pancakes.
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Stack three "pancakes" into a pile. Each pile represents a single chloroplast--for a total of four chloroplasts.
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18
Pull the plastic box out of the refrigerator after 45 minutes. The gelatin should not be set entirely yet.
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19
Carefully place all the clay and yarn organelles in the gelatin. They should be spaced out along the entire cell.
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20
Sprinkle seed beads in small clusters in several places throughout the gelatin cytoplasm to represent the ribosomes.
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21
Return the model to the refrigerator to finish hardening.
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Tips & Warnings
Work on making the clay organelles while the gelatin is setting.
Use a different color of clay for each organelle.
Draw a key or stick labeled toothpicks into your model to identify the different parts.
Use caution when handling the hot water.
