Looking for a quick mini lesson and parts of a cell project? Check out this quick lesson and activity you can do with any student who is around age 8 and up. You can make the model with either candy (as shown below) or clay if using candy is not your style.
This mini lesson contains three parts: watching a video on the parts of a cell, creating a model of the cell, and finishing with a labeling worksheet. Always screen videos before showing to children!
Video
I have two videos listed below. The first video I recommend for ages 5th grade and under. We are a big fan of the Dr. Binoc show. He runs through the various parts of a cell in an easy to understand manner.
For students who are in middle school, I recommend this video instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xe1s65IH0w
Parts of a Cell Project
After watching this short video, your student can then construct their own model of the a cell using candy or clay! My kids love edible models, so we typically will use candy or other food to create one. For this model, we picked up a selection of candy items shown below:
- Cell Membrane: A plasma membrane that separates the interior of the cell from the exterior (Orange Twizzlers)
- Cytoplasm: A gel-like substance that provides structure to the cell and holds all the organelles – we thought about suspending the entire cell in Jell-O, which would have been super fun!
- Golgi Apparatus: The packing center of the cell, which alters and transports proteins. (Blue Twizzlers)
- Lysosome: An organelle that contains powerful enzymes which break down waste and other materials in a cell. (Skittles Gummies)
- Mitochondria: This organelle makes most of the energy for the cell, and is nick-named the powerhouse. (Mike-n-Ikes)
- Nucleolus: The center of the nucleus containing RNA and proteins. (Gummy Nerd Cluster)
- Nucleus: The control center or “brain” of the cell, situated close to the center. (another Skittles gummy)
- Ribosomes: The smallest of the organelles which are involved in making proteins (Nerds – not shown in the picture)
- Rough ER (endoplasmic reticulum): A collection of thin tubes that make and package proteins and fats in the cell. The reticulum is found close to the nucleus. The rough ER contains protein making ribosomes on its surface. (Not shown in this model- but you could easily make it with nerds on top of twizzlers)
- Smooth ER (endoplasmic reticulum): Another collection of tubes found close to the nucleus that make fats in the cell. Smooth ER has no ribosomes and doesn’t produce any proteins. (Red Twizzlers)
Picture of our completed cell:
Parts of a Cell Labeling
Third, you can complete a labeling worksheet on the parts of the cell. I created this resource and used it for my children.
For more fun mini projects, check out our modeling project on the ocean floor.