How To Build A 3D Animal Cell Model

The flat images in most science textbooks are of little use when it comes to the tricky process of learning the parts of an animal cell. A hands-on 3D model is a much better way to illustrate the inner workings of life's basic building blocks. Try making this homemade version for your next biology class or science fair project.

Step 1

Cover a small baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Step 2

Create the cell's nucleolus by rolling red polymer clay into a ball with a 1/2-inch diameter. Cover the nucleolus with a 1/8-inch layer of pink polymer clay. Cut a wedge out of the ball and place it on the baking sheet.

Step 3

For the mitochondria, roll blue polymer clay into a 1/4 –inch thick cylinder. Cut three 1/2–inch pieces from the cylinder with the clay knife. Round the edges off, then cut the pieces in half. Scribe a zigzag pattern into the flat faces of the sections and place them on the baking sheet.

Step 4

Make the vacuoles by rolling the white polymer clay into three, 1/4–inch balls. Distort the balls by squishing them with your fingers, and then place them on the baking sheet.

Step 5

Repeat step 4 with the orange clay to create the lysosomes.

Step 6

With the rolling pin, flatten the purple polymer clay into a 1/8-inch sheet. Cut three 3/8-inch by 4-inch strips from the clay. Starting on one of the 3/8-inch ends of a strip, accordion fold the clay in an irregular pattern until it resembles the Golgi body of a cell. Repeat this procedure with the other two clay strips, then set all three Golgi bodies on the baking sheet.

Step 7

Fashion the endoplasmic reticulum out of yellow polymer clay using the process described in step 6.

Step 8

Place the baking sheet in the toaster oven and bake at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

Step 9

Crack the door of the toaster oven to allow the polymer clay to cool for an hour. When the clay organelles reach room temperature, remove them from the oven and apply a thin coat of clear nail polish to each piece. Allow the nail polish to dry for 45 minutes.

Step 10

Inflate a rubber exam glove and release the air. Repeat this process four more times to stretch the glove. Cut off one finger of the glove. This will represent the cell membrane.

Step 11

Place all of the clay organelles and one teaspoon of glitter, which will represent the ribosomes, in the finger of the glove.

Step 12

Stretch the open end of the glove finger over the spout of a water faucet and fill with cool water. Turn off the water and carefully remove it from the faucet. Tie it off as you would tie a balloon. Shake and gently squeeze to make the organelles move.

Step 13

Use the colored markers to create a color-coded key on a piece of 10-inch by 10-inch white poster board. Cut out a small piece of the leftover rubber glove and glue it to the key to represent the cell membrane. Draw a box without color to show that the water represents the cytoplasm. Display the cell model knot-side down in a plastic spray can lid next to the poster board key.