A cell model is a 3-dimensional model that shows the parts of a plant or animal cell. You can make cell models from common foodstuffs found at home, or buy some simple extra details to make cell models as a science project that's fun and educational, as well as delicious.
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Method 1 of 4: Studying the Cell Model
Step 1. Decide whether to model a plant or animal cell
Each cell has a different shape, so you'll need different materials depending on the type of cell you want to make.
Step 2. Learn the parts of a plant cell
You must know the shape of each part of the cell and what it does. In general, plant cells are larger than animal cells and are rectangular or square in shape.
- There are many good quality pictures of plant cell parts available on the internet.
- The main feature of plant cells that distinguishes them from animal cells is the thick and rigid cell wall that surrounds them.
Step 3. Learn the parts of an animal cell
Unlike plant cells, animal cells do not have a cell wall. Animal cells have various sizes and irregular shapes. The size of most animal cells ranges from 1 to 100 micrometers and can only be seen with the aid of a microscope.
You can also find some good pictures of animal cell parts on the internet
Method 2 of 4: Creating a Cell Model from Agar
Step 1. Gather the materials
To create a cell model from jelly, you will need:
- Agar powder with orange flavor or without flavor
- Light colored fruit juice (if using unflavored jelly)
- Candy and fruit of various shapes and colors. Choose fruits such as grapes, oranges (which have been removed separately), dried fruit, and raisins. Candy that can be used in various forms, for example, long like a caterpillar, like a bean, round, flat, both hard and chewy. You can also use meses, but avoid marshmallows as they can float on top of the jelly.
- Water
- Large clip plastic bag
- Spoon
- Large container or bowl
- Stove or microwave
- Refrigerator
Step 2. Make jelly, but only with a small amount of water
This is to make the jelly harder so that it can hold parts of the cell on it.
- Bring of the water to a boil according to the instructions. Add the agar powder to the boiling water and stir it carefully. Add the same amount of cold water to the solution.
- If you're using unflavored jelly, add fruit juice instead of water to make the gelatin brightly colored.
- This agar will represent the cytoplasm of the cell.
Step 3. Place the plastic bag in a solid container, such as a large bowl or saucepan
Slowly pour the cooled gelatin solution into the bag.
- Make sure there is still room in the bag for the cell parts to be added later.
- Glue the plastic bag clips and place them in the refrigerator.
Step 4. Wait for the gelatin to harden, about an hour
Then, remove the bag from the refrigerator and open it.
Step 5. Add different types of prepared candies to the gelatin bag to represent the cell parts
Make sure the candy used is light in color and shaped according to the actual cell components.
If you're making plant cells, remember to add a cell membrane around the jelly from a thin, long candy bar
Step 6. Create captions showing the parts of the cell that each candy represents
You can make a caption on the card with the same candy pasted on the card or create a label by writing or typing the cell name and pasting it on each candy.
Step 7. Glue the plastic bag clip again and put it in the refrigerator
The agar will harden completely until a solid cell model is formed.
Capture the jelly cell model in the photo, then eat it
Method 3 of 4: Creating a Cell Model from a Cake
Step 1. Gather the ingredients
To create a cell model from cake ingredients, you will need:
- Cake dough, and ingredients for making dough.
- Vanilla flavored sugar cream for garnish
- Choice of food coloring
- Various types of candies to represent organelles, such as Yupi gummy worms and sprinkles that are usually sprinkled on top of tarts, etc.
- Toothpick
- Label
Step 2. Make a cake in the pan based on the type of cell to be made
Use a round pan for animal cells and a rectangular pan for plant cells.
- Bake the cake according to the directions on the package. You can also set aside a small amount of dough to make cupcakes that represent the nucleus.
- Let the cake cool completely and then remove it from the pan. Place on a cake decorating board, or plate.
- If you want to make a taller cell model, you can make two cakes 20 cm high and stack them together.
Step 3. Decorate the cake
Color the vanilla-flavored cream of sugar with food coloring that matches the color of the cell component to be represented.
- You can divide the cream to represent the different layers of cells. For example, to make an animal cell, you could use yellow cream to represent the cytoplasm and red cream on a cupcake to represent the nucleus.
- To make plant cells, you can use colored cream to depict the cell walls by spreading it around the cake.
Step 4. Arrange the candy on top of the cake to represent the organelles
It might be a good idea to arrange the candy while looking at the image of the cell to identify the components of the cell that it represents. Below is an example of a candy whose shape represents the components of an animal cell (note: this is an American candy cane, please look for a candy or material that is similar in shape and texture):
- Mike and Ike pink for smooth endoplasmic reticulum.
- Mike and Ike blue for mitochondria.
- Flat sprinkler for ribosomes.
- Airheads for rough endoplasmic reticulum.
- Sour gummy worm for the golgi apparatus.
- Warheads for vacuoles.
Step 5. Pin a toothpick with a label attached to each part of the cell
Type the name of the cell section on the computer. Cut the label paper and stick it on a toothpick before sticking it on the cake, next to the cell components described.
Take your cell cake and eat it
Method 4 of 4: Making Cell Models from Toy Candles
Step 1. Gather the ingredients
To make a cell model from toy wax, you will need:
- Styrofoam balls are small or medium in size.
- Pack of colorful toy candles
- Toothpick
- Label
Step 2. Split the Styrofoam ball in half
The size of the ball depends on how detailed you want to make the parts of the cell.
This means that a larger Styrofoam ball will give you more space and flexibility to be creative
Step 3. Coat the flat part of the split ball with wax
You can coat the flat surface with a certain color of wax according to the model you want to make.
Step 4. Make cell parts from colorful toy candles
It may be a good idea to use the guides from the cell image to make sure the cell components are represented correctly.
- Make sure you use different colors for each component so they can be distinguished from one another.
- Pin the components to the flat surface of the Styrofoam ball with a toothpick.
- If you are making a plant cell, remember to add a cell wall.
Step 5. Paste the appropriate label with the cell part
Tape the label paper to a toothpick or pin and stick it into the ball next to the component indicated on the label.
