How to Assemble a Skeleton

Artificial skeletons can be made of paper, plastics or resin.

The skeleton supports and protects the organs, muscles, skin and other tissues. According to Enchanted Learning, there are 206 bones in a human skeleton. Whether you are assembling a skeleton for a Halloween event or for a school project, it's important to make sure the bones are connected properly. There are many kinds of artificial skeletons, from inexpensive paper skeletons to plastic skeletons to resin skeletons that are remarkably realistic. Use the best adhesive for your skeleton's material. Paper is best glued with school glue or rubber cement. Plastics and resins can be glued with epoxies or super-strength glues.

Things You'll Need

• Skeleton
• Human skeleton diagram with labeled parts
• Pencil
• Sticky notes
• Adhesive

Instructions

1. Place the skeleton pieces onto a flat work surface. Using a labeled human skeleton diagram, label each bone by writing the correct name onto the bone with pencil. This can be erased later. If the bone is too small to label, write the bone's name on a sticky note and place the note beneath the bone. Skeleton diagrams can be found online and in books.

2. Place the skull onto your work surface. Attach the lower jaw with adhesive if it is separate from the skull. Allow the glue to dry before handling.

3. 

   Use a textbook or online chart to find a labeled skeleton diagram for reference.

   Adhere the vertebrae together using adhesive. Some artificial skeletons are simplified and the spine is already connected. Attach the skull to the neck vertebrae and glue. Allow glue to dry.

4. Attach the ribs to the back vertebrae. Some replica skeletons come with the rib cage formed in one piece, as do many school-project paper skeletons.

5. Glue the clavicles to the left and right side of the neck vertebrae where your collarbones are. Glue the shoulder blades or scapulas to the ends of the clavicles so that the scapulas are on the back of the skeleton. If you're gluing a two-dimensional paper skeleton, you may only have a frontal view.

6. 

   The humerus attaches to the scapula, forming a ball-and-socket joint.

   Glue the large arm bone or humerus to the radius and the ulna. The elbow is the joint between the humerus and the two smaller arm bones. Repeat for other arm. According to Enchanted Learning, bones connect to each other by joints. Some human body joints are fixed or hinged such as the elbow, and ball-and-socket joints such as the shoulders and ankles.

7. Glue the wrist, hand and finger bones together according to your labeled human skeleton diagram. Some artificial or paper skeletons have the hand as one piece to aid in construction. Repeat for other arm.

8. Adhere the pelvis to the lower vertebrae and glue the femur into the ball-and-socket joint of the pelvis. These are the hips. According to Enchanted Learning, the longest bone in the human skeleton is the femur, commonly known as the thigh bone.

9. 

   The leg bones consist of the femur, tibia, fibula and patella.

   Glue the tbia and fibula or smaller leg bones to the ends of each femur. The patella or kneecap is glued on top of the joint or knee between the femur and smaller leg bones.

10. Adhere the ankle, foot and toe bones together according to your labeled human skeleton diagram. Many fake skeletons have the feet and toes formed as a solid unit because of the many small bones comprising the foot.

Tips & Warnings

• According to Panzer World, a hobby website for model-makers, Cyanoacrylat glue, or more commonly known as super glue is also used in hospitals to glue flesh. Use caution when using super glues and epoxies as gluing your flesh to the skeleton can result in injuries.

References

• Enchanted Learning: Labeled Human Skeleton Diagram
• Panzer World: How to Use Different Glues

Resources

• Enchanted Learning: Unlabeled Human Skeleton Print Out