How to Create a Nerve Cell Model Kids Can Make

eHow may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.

Things You'll Need

  • Red pipe cleaner

  • Blue pipe cleaner

  • 3 white pipe cleaners

  • Black pipe cleaner

  • Green pipe cleaner

Turn colored pipe cleaners into a cell model.

Getting a grip on neuroscience may not seem like child's play, but a few different colored pipe cleaners are all you need to make your own neuron or nerve cell model that incorporates all the vital features of these cells. Children as young as 3rd graders can complete this project with a little assistance, so set your budding biologists to work on this science project without delay.

Advertisement

Step 1

Roll the red pipe cleaner into a ball. This will represent the cell's body.

Video of the Day

Step 2

Push the blue pipe cleaner through the center of the body until the ball sits in the middle of blue pipe cleaner. Bend the two halves of the blue pipe cleaner together till they meet, then twist them together to form a single fat "tail" attached to the body. This represents the cell's axon.

Advertisement

Step 3

Cut three white pipe cleaners in half and push each piece through the body of the cell (the red ball) until it emerges out the other side of the body. These short white spikes or tendrils represent the cell's dendrites.

Step 4

Loosely wind a black pipe cleaner around the axon. The blue of the axon should still be visible. This represent the myelin sheath in your model. Trim any excess pipe cleaner trailing past the end of the axon.

Advertisement

Step 5

Cut a green pipe cleaner in three and wrap one piece around the end of the axon, opposite the body. This represents the cell's synaptic terminal.

Advertisement

Video of the Day

references

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...