Animal Cell Model Projects for High School

Jello Mold Cell

• Create a model of a cell using gelatin to suspend the organelles of the animal cell. Use a large Ziplock plastic bag, which represents the cell's membrane. Follow the directions on the gelatin, which involves using hot water to dissolve the powdered gelatin, and pour the mixture into the plastic bag. Drop fruit and vegetables that resemble some of the cell̵7;s organs into the gelatin before it sets to represent the different structures within the cell, such as slices of zucchini for the endoplasmic reticulum, a plum for the nucleus and peas for the ribosomes.

Glass Jar Cell

• Use a large glass jar as the container for your animal cell model. Make sure to remove the label from the jar so you can see everything inside the jar clearly. Use Play-Doh or air drying modeling clay to shape the different parts within the animal cell, such as the mitochondria and Golgi apparatus. Paint the objects once they are dry to help distinguish between the different organelles. Fill the jar up with a liquid such as vegetable oil to represent the cytoplasm of the cell, then place the lid on the jar. The objects should float in the oil like the organelles within a cell membrane.

Styrofoam Cell Model

• Use a large styrofoam ball to represent the cell, and cut out a quarter of the cell to build a representation of the cross-section of the animal cell. Leave a smaller, rounded circle at the base of your cross-section to represent the nucleus. Use tempera paints to paint the different structures contained within a living cell, and label each structure with a small paper tag attached with either a pin or a toothpick.

Foam Core Cell Model

• Sculpt the structures of a cell using Play-Doh or air drying clay onto a large sheet of foam core. Foam core is like poster board, but contains a sheet of foam that is about a quarter-inch thick in between two sheets of paper. It may be helpful to first sketch your design onto the board using a yellow marker, the light color being less visible than a darker color, like black. Build the organelles over the lines of your cell drawing, and be sure to represent the action of a living cell by showing the organelles' functioning, such as showing a ribosome reading a small strand of RNA.