![](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/360x267p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/e637337a-3a53-460b-90f1-b0bab5e851b6.jpg)
Animal and plant cells are similar in many ways, but have distinctive differences as well. For example, a plant cell has a sturdy cell wall cover, while an animal cell has only a thin, malleable cell membrane. If you are giving a report on the differences between animal and plant cells, you can demonstrate these differences much more clearly by making 3D models of an animal and a plant cell.
Animal Cell
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/b04a8d5b-fa4f-4a66-8074-cfde92f72dd7.jpg)
Roll a pea-sized piece of red polymer clay into a sphere. This will be the animal cell's nucleolus.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/dba49b4b-7959-4d6a-98a6-d307b01da4e2.jpg)
Wrap enough yellow polymer clay around the nucleolus until it has a 1/2 inch layer surrounding it. This will be the animal cell's nucleus.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/2a4714c4-a96e-46b2-8c3d-1a230b562e18.jpg)
Cover the nucleus with a 1-inch layer of orange polymer clay. This will be the animal cell's cytoplasm.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/231af49d-9289-42d9-b766-939beed78ba3.jpg)
Place three pea-sized pieces of purple clay around the cytoplasm. These will be the golgi bodies of the animal cell.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/bd6f052e-989d-4de3-9f56-4ad0e6911ed1.jpg)
Cover the cell with another 1/2-inch layer of orange polymer cytoplasm.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/e55503d3-fda0-4721-913a-765b1ad81cd8.jpg)
Place a 1/2-inch piece of blue polymer clay onto the cytoplasm. This will be the animal cell's vacuole.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/c4efd8e2-73b9-4557-abde-6ea6d87dd882.jpg)
Cover the entire cell with a thin 1/4-inch layer of white polymer clay. This will be the cell membrane.
Plant Cell
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/de5cd392-f369-4d0b-934d-f5de51611a94.jpg)
Repeat steps 1 through 5 of making an animal cell.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/26866894-98eb-4087-bc83-83963dff43e2.jpg)
Place five to six pea-sized pieces of green polymer clay onto the cytoplasm. These will be the chlorophyll of the plant cell.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/07edc1b9-126d-45a0-83c8-6ba6b3871edb.jpg)
Cover the nucleus with another 1/2-inch layer of orange polymer clay. This will be more of the plant cell's cytoplasm.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/cffe0e4d-89c9-4cb6-bcb4-ed6125085d9f.jpg)
Cover the cell with a 1/2-inch thick layer of green polymer clay. Press the cell into a cube. This will be the cell wall of the plant cell.
Baking the Cells
- Polymer clay
- Clay wire
- Jelly roll pan
- Oven
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/be3448e7-a9f9-45e6-bc9a-03c0a96bd1c6.jpg)
Slice through the middle of both cell models using a clay wire. This will open up the cells to reveal the inner organelles.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/c42c0f76-cf4e-4544-9cc3-429a6b99345a.jpg)
Place the pieces onto a jelly roll tray, and bake it in a 200 degrees F oven for 15 minutes.
![Photo Credit: Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media](https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/600x600p/s3.amazonaws.com/photography.prod.demandstudios.com/eb683bc5-b323-4290-a60f-e30b67f231df.jpg)
Allow the clay to cool completely before displaying the models.
Things You'll Need
References
Photo Credits
Robinson Cartagena Lopez - RoCarLo/Demand Media