There are several good images of the parts of a plant cell online. The main distinguishing feature of a plant cell is that unlike an animal cell, it is surrounded by a thick, rigid cell wall. [2] X Research source Plant cells contain chloroplasts that produce food and energy for the cell while animal cells do not. [3] X Research source
There are also several good images of the parts of an animal cell online. [5] X Research source Animal cells have smaller vacuoles that store food and nutrients while plant cells have 1 large vacuole that takes up most of the cell’s mass. [6] X Research source
Lemon flavored jello, or unflavored jello Light colored fruit juice (if using unflavored jello) Various candies and fruits, such as raisins, gummy worms (plain and sour), gumdrops, jelly beans, grapes, mandarin orange sections, sprinkles, M&M’s, jawbreakers, dried fruit, and/or hard candy. Avoid using marshmallows, as they will float on top of the gelatin. Water A large plastic resealable bag A spoon A large bowl or container Access to a stovetop or microwave Access to a refrigerator
Heat the water to boiling, using ¾ of what is called for in the instructions. Dissolve the gelatin in the hot water and stir it carefully. Add the same amount of cold water to the mixture. If you are using unflavored jello, add fruit juice to the jello in place of water so the jello is a light, bright color. The jello will represent the cytoplasm of the cell.
Make sure there is room in the bag for all the cell components that will be added in later. Seal the bag and put it in the refrigerator.
Pink Mike and Ikes for the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Blue Mike and Ikes for the mitochondria. Disc sprinkles for the ribosomes. Airheads for the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Sour gummy worms for the Golgi apparatus. Warheads for the vacuoles. Keep in mind that if you are making a plant cell, you will need to add in a cell membrane around the jello with candy such as Twizzlers or Pixie Sticks.
Feel to free to take a picture of the jello model, and then eat it!
Cake mix, as well as the ingredients to make the mix Vanilla icing Food coloring of choice Various candies to represent the organelles, such as blue Mike and Ikes, pink Mike and Ikes, War Heads, Air Heads, sour gummy worms and sprinkles Toothpicks Labels
Follow the instructions on the package to bake the cake. You can also set aside a little of the batter to make one cupcake to represent the nucleus. Let the cake cool completely and then remove it from the pan. Place it on the cake board. You can also make 2 9 in (23 cm) cakes to layer on top of each other if you’d prefer a taller cell model.
One option is to make separate colored icings to represent the different layers of the cell. For example, to make an animal cell, you could use yellow icing to represent the cytoplasm and red icing on the cupcake representing the nucleus. [10] X Research source If you are making a plant cell, you can make colored icing to distinguish the cell wall and spread it on the sides of the cake.
Pink Mike and Ikes for the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Blue Mike and Ikes for the mitochondria. Disc sprinkles for the ribosomes. Airheads for the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Sour gummy worms for the Golgi apparatus. Warheads for the vacuoles.
Take pictures of the cake model, and then eat it!
A small or medium sized styrofoam ball. A package of colorful clay (feel free to also use Play-Doh or Crayola’s Model Magic) Toothpicks Labels
Keep in mind a larger styrofoam ball will give you more room and flexibility to work.
Be sure to use different colored clay for each component to distinguish them from each other. Add the components to the flat side of the styrofoam using toothpicks. If you’re making a plant cell, remember to add a cell wall to your model.
