Neuroscience for Kids - Models
Modeling the Nervous
SystemSometimes the best way to learn about
something is to hold it in your hand.
For grades 3-12
Create a model of a neuron by using clay, playdough, styrofoam,
recyclables, food or anything else you can get your hands on.
pictures from books to give you an idea of where the components of a
neuron should go and what shape they should be.
Use different colors to
indicate different structures.
Make a neural circuit with a few of the
Create sensory or motor systems.
Eat your model if you made it
out of food!!
Materials:
Clay or Playdough or Styrofoam or Recyclables (bottle caps, cups,
buttons, etc) OR Food (fruit, jelly beans)
A picture or diagram of a neuron (see the picture below or go to:
If you would like to use this
"build a neuron" as a classroom activity, here is a .
Need some play dough but don't have any?
Here is a recipe that you can
use to make your own:
1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt
& 2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup cold water with food coloring, 1 Tablespoon salad oil
Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Let it cool
a bit and then knead it.
Keep in an airtight container so it doesn't dry
You can also add color to the play dough by adding some poster paint with
the liquid instead of food coloring.
Try to use as little paint as
possible to get the desired color or it will make the play dough sticky.
For grades 3-12
Get out those beads and make a neuron!
This neuron with seven dendrites
requires 65 beads: 42 beads for the dendrites, 10 beads for the cell body,
12 beads for the axon and 1 bead for the synaptic terminal.
String the
beads using the pattern in the diagrams below.
The string can be yarn,
rope, or for the best result use flexible wire.
You can also create your
own pattern or use a different colored bead for a nucleus in the cell
Materials:
or get a full
For grades 3-12
Get out those pipe cleaners and make a neuron!
This neuron pipe
cleaners of 5 different colors:
one color each for the dendrites,
cell body, axon, myelin sheath and synaptic terminal.
Any colors will do.
1. Take one
pipe cleaner and roll it into a ball. This is will be the cell body.
2.Take another pipe cleaner and attach it to the new "cell body" by
pushing it through the ball so there are two halves sticking out. Take the
two halves and twist them together into a single extension. This will be the
3.Take other pipe cleaners and push them through the
"cell body" on the side opposite the axon. These are dendrites. These can
be shorter than your axon and you can twist more pipe cleaners to make
more dendrites.
4.Wrap small individual pipe cleaners along the
length of the axon. These will represent the myelin sheath. 5. Wrap
another pipe cleaner on the end of the axon.
This will be the synaptic
String Neuron
a parachute!
It's a witch's broom! It's the
Eiffel Tower!
a NEURON!!!
If you have ever played any "string games," then this neuron model should
be easy for you to make.
Follow the steps on
to make a neuron from string.
Materials:
A loop of string or yarn (about 3 ft. in length).
This giant model of a neuron illustrates the properties of
You must construct the neuron before you
use it with a group of people.
Cut two to three foot lengths of rope to use as dendrites.
Another 10-15
foot piece of rope will be turned into the axon.
The cell body and
synaptic terminal of the neuron can be plastic containers.
Drill holes in
the plastic containers for the dendrites and axon.
To secure the
dendrites and axon in place, tie a knot in the ropes so they will not slip
through the holes of the containers.
The action potential is modeled with
a pool float.
Thread the pool float onto the axon before you secure the
axon in place.
Place small plastic balls or ping-pong balls in the
synaptic terminal and your model is ready to go!
Set up the model:
Get volunteers to hold each of the dendrites.
Get one volunteer to hold the cell body and one to hold the synaptic
Make sure the person holding the synaptic terminal keeps his or
her hands AWAY from the place the axon attaches (more about this later).
Get one volunteer who will hold more molecules of neurotransmitter
(more plastic balls) near the people who are dendrites.
Get one volunteer to hold the action potential.
Use the model:
Have the person holding molecules of neurotransmitter TOSS the
plastic balls to the people who are dendrites.
The "dendrite people" try
to catch the plastic balls.
This models the release of neurotransmitters
and the attachment (binding) of neurotransmitters to receptors on
dendrites.
When three plastic balls are caught by dendrites, the person holding
the action potential can throw/slide the pool float down the axon.
simulates the depolarization of the neuron above its threshold value and
the generation of an action potential.
The action potential (pool float) should speed down the axon toward
the synaptic terminal where it will slam into the container.
This should
cause the release of the neurotransmitters (plastic balls) that were being
held there.
CAUTION: The pool float
will travel
very fast!
Make sure that the person holding the synaptic terminal keeps
his or her fingers and hands AWAY from the pool float.
If the entire model is stretched tightly, the pool float should travel
down to the terminal smoothly.
This model can be used to reinforce
the "ALL-OR-NONE" concept of the action potential:
Once the action potential starts, it continues without
interruption.
The size of the action potential stays the same as it travels down the
The Rope Neuron in Action
Materials:
Rope (for dendrites and axon)
Plastic containers (for cell body and synaptic terminal)
Pool Float (or another object will
action potential)
Plastic balls (for neurotransmitters)
Volunteers!
Background information:
What can you do with those free CDs you receive in the mail?
Drill several holes in one side of the CD.
Tie lengths of wire
or string through these holes.
These wires or string become the dendrites
of your neuron.
Attach a long wire or string to the center hole of the CD
(or you can drill another hole in the CD for this long wire).
wire or string becomes the axon.
Make a hole in the center of a plastic
container and thread the end of the axon through it.
The container
becomes the synaptic terminal.
Materials:
Rope, string or wire (for dendrites and axon)
Plastic container (for synaptic terminal)
Drill (to make holes in CD)
Neuron Costume
For grades K-12
Can't think of a costume for Halloween?
Why not be a neuron?
sent in by Kate V.; you can see her is wearing her neuron costume in the
photograph.)
Cut some pipe cleaners into short pieces.
Wrap these short pieces around
longer pipe cleaners to make dendrites.
Wrap one end of each dendrite
around a safety pin.
Pin the dendrites to a pink short-sleeved shirt
Put on your costume...be a neuron!
Materials:
Pink short-sleeved shirt
Blue long sleeved shirt
Pink shorts
Blue tights
Safety pins
Blue pipe cleaners
More neuroscience inspired costumes from Adlai E. Stevenson High
Neuron...in a BAG!
For grades 6-12
An edible neuron?
Mix one box of Jell-O with water by following the
directions on the Jell-O box.
After the Jell-O has cooled to a warm
temperature, pour it into small plastic bags.
Add fruits (canned fruit
cocktail works well) and candies to the Jell-O to represent the organelles
you would find inside of a neuron.
For example, mandarin orange slices
c a cherry half
red and black
string licorice could be microtubules and neurofilaments. The plastic bag
can represent the cell membrane.
Don't forget ribosomes, the golgi
apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum.
You should also make a "legend"
your cell so you remember which food represents which organelle.
your legend on some card stock or index card.
After all the "organelles"
have been added, tie off the top of the bag with a twist tie and place the
"cell" in the refrigerator.
When the Jell-O gets firm, take it out, and
compare your neuron to other neurons.
Then, have a snack...a neuron
Materials:
Jell-O - any flavor
Plastic bags - sandwich size
Canned fruit
Twist ties
A picture or diagram of a neuron
for more about the organelles found in neurons.
Simple Neuron Model
For grades K-12
Here's the most simple model of a neuron I can think of...and you don't
need any supplies.
It's your hand!
Hold out your arm and spread your
Your hand represents the "cell body" (also called the "soma");
your fingers represent "dendrites" bringing informat
your arm represents the "axon" taking information away from the cell body.
Materials:
For grades K-12
Create a model of the brain by using clay, playdough, styrofoam,
recyclables, food, etc.
Create a whole brain or use a brain atlas and
create cross-sections of the brain at different levels.
Use different
colors to indicate different structures.
Materials:
Clay or Playdough or Styrofoam or Recyclables (bottle caps, cups,
buttons, etc) OR Food (fruit, jelly beans)
A picture or diagram of the brain
Here are two recipes for the construction of a model brain:
Recipe 1 (from the
and the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, WA)
Materials:
1.5 cups (360 ml) instant potato flakes
2.5 cup (600 ml) hot water
2 cups (480 ml) clean sand
1 gallon ziplock bag
Combine all of the ingredients in the ziplock bag and mix thoroughly.
It should weigh about 3 lbs. (1.35 kg.) and have the consistency of a real
Recipe 2 (from BrainLink)
Materials:
2 cups water
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
One quarter cup vegetable oil
1 cup salt
Red food coloring
Mix the water, salt, flour and cream of tartar in a large bowl or blender
until the lumps disappear.
Then mix in the vegetable oil.
Put the entire
into a sauce pan and "cook" it over low heat until it gets lumpy.
the mixture out and let it cool.
Then knead and shape it into the form of
Don't forget to add wrinkles (gyri) to your brain.
red food coloring for blood vessels.
Thinking Cap
For grades 3-12
Display your brain on a "Thinking Cap."
Thinking Caps are
created from papier (or paper) mache.
Create the Form: First, create the brain form for the cap.
create a form from wire (e.g., chicken wire) or a balloon or use a bowl to
build your cap around.
You could even ball up some newspaper and cover it
will masking tape.
The form should have the approximate size and shape of
your head so you can wear it.
Create the Structure:
Cut strips of newspaper and glue them to the
form using papier mache paste.
Pastes can be made from:
White glue and water (about 2 parts glue to 1 part water)
White flour, salt and water (about 1 part flour to 1 part water with
a few tablespoons of salt)
Liquid starch
Coat the newspaper strips with the paste, and place them on the form.
Let each newspaper layer dry before you add a new layer.
Add enough
layers to give you a strong structure.
When the structure is dry, remove
the underlying form.
You may have to cut the edges of the structure and
repair the sides for a good fit on your head.
Decorate the Thinking Cap:
you can paint the Thinking Cap with the
(see photo) or with the .
The Thinking Cap
you can make from paper.
Brains/Baked
For grades K-12
Baked brains and neurons may look and smell tasty, but don't eat them.
Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.
Add water and mix.
The mixture
should start to stick together.
If the mixture is too crumbly, add a
little more water.
Spread a little flour on a countertop or cutting board.
Work the mixture
into a ball and knead it on the countertop or cutting board.
mixture can be molded, take pieces and shape them into brains or
Place the finished brains and neurons on an ungreased cookie sheet.
in the oven at 350o for 10-15 minutes.
The brains and neurons
will turn slightly brown, but don't let them burn.
Let the brains and
neurons cool, then paint them.
CAUTION: Be extremely
careful using the oven.
The cookie sheet and baked items can get VERY
Adult supervision is required!
Materials:
Flour (1 cup)
Salt (1/4 cup)
Water (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
Oven for baking
Baked Brains/Baked Neurons
Uncooked Neuron
Baked Neuron
Uncooked CNS
Uncooked Brain
Baked Neurons
Do You Know Your Brain?
Grades 1-12
Alexandra Colón Rodriguez, a PhD student in Comparative Medicine and
the Integrative Biology Program, Environmental and Toxicological Sciences
Program at Michigan State University, has created a great hands-on
activity learn about the brain.
Make a Cat and
Rabbit Brain
Grades 4-12
Make brains again and again.
BrainLink has developed cat and
rabbit brain molds that you can buy from the
$16.95 each (Catalog #MF-95-2849A) .
Coat each side of the rubber mold
with liquid hand soap.
Mix up FAST set dental plaster (also available
from CBS) with water to the consistency of toothpaste. Pour the dental
plaster into each side of the mold.
Sandwich the mold together and wait
about 15-20 minutes.
Tap the mold a few times to get out all the air
It can get a bit messy.
When the plaster has set and is hard,
peel back one side of the mold and remove the brain. You can add food
coloring to the plaster while you are mixing the plaster if you want a
brain with a bit of color or you can paint the different parts of the
brain with different colors.
Materials:
Brain Molds
Fast set dental plaster (call a local dental supply company - it is
fairly cheap - about $15 for 25 pounds - enough for many brains).
Patterson Dental Supply, Inc. also has the plaster (catalog #48512).
Their phone number is 1-800-626-5141 or 1-502-459-7444.
Food coloring and paint (if you want
to color the brains) Water - to mix up the plaster
...or purchase .
Grades K-12
Get jello molds in the shape of the brain at . For about $12 (plus shipping) you get either a gelatin mold of
the top half of the brain or a side (lateral) view of the brain.
brains over and over again.
You can also model the
of the brain by using layers of
plastic wrap on top of your jello brain.
Make sure everyone gets a taste.
Now that's what I call brain food!
Here is the recipe for the top view jello brain:
3 large (6 oz) boxes of jello (peach or watermelon recommended)
1 can (12 oz) evaporated skimmed/fat-free milk
A few drops of green food coloring (to change the color to gray)
3.5 cups of water (2.5 1 cup cold)
Coat mold with vegetable oil or spray
Add 2.5 cups of boiling water into jello.
Stir and dissolve
Stir in 1 cup of cold water.
Stir in skimmed milk (~2 minutes)
Add a few drops of green food coloring
Pour entire mixture into jello mold
Place mold into refrigerator overnight.
Make the Bones of the Spinal Column
(Vertebrae)
For grades K-12
The human spinal
cord is protected by the bony spinal column shown.
There are 31 segments
of the spinal cord and 33 bones (vertebrae) that surround these segments.
There are 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral and 4
coccygeal vertebrae in the human body.
To model these bones, get 33 empty
spools of thread (buttons may also work or slices of paper towel holders).
Run a string or thread through the middle of one of the spools or buttons.
Tie off one end of the string and put the remaining spools or buttons on
the string.
Each spool (or button) will represent one vertebra.
your model is finished, notice how it can bend.
In a real spinal column,
the vertebrae are held together by ligaments.
Materials:
Empty thread spools or buttons
Read more about the .
Color a Brain
For grades K-3
or xerox a picture of the brain and color it.
Use different
colors to color the .
Materials:
Pencils, pens, markers
Cap Head...No, it's your Brain!
For grades K-12
A great way to introduce the brain.
Get a white swimming cap - you know,
the kind that pulls on tight over your head.
Draw an outline of the brain
on the cap with a black marker.
To introduce the brain to your class,
wear the cap!!
It is a great way to start a discussion.
also draw the
on your cap with different color markers.
Materials:
Black Marker
Color Markers
Connect the Dots
For grades K-6
This exercise is to illustrate the complexity of the connections of the
Draw 10 dots on one side of a piece of paper and 10 dots on the
other side of the paper.
Assume these dots represent neurons, and assume
that each neuron makes connections with the 10 dots on the other side of
the paper.
Then connect each dot on one side with the 10 dots on the
other side.
As you can see from the diagram below, it gets very
complicated after a while.
I have only connected 4 of the "neurons".
Remember that this is quite a simplification.
Each neuron (dot) may
actually make thousands of connections with other neurons.
tried this your paper would be really messy!!
Materials:
Pencil, pens, markers
Compare and Contrast
For grades K-12
What better model of the brain than a REAL BRAIN!!
Try to get "loaner"
brains (human and animal) from your local university (try medical schools,
Departments of Biology, Zoology, Psychology).
Some animal supply
companies also sell brains (see the ).
You may be able to find cow or pig brains at the supermarket
or local butcher.
Try to get a "Brain Atlas" or look at some
or visit the
the University of Wisconsin.
This will aid the identification of brain
structures.
Make sure you wear gloves when handling any specimens.
Also be aware that
some brains may be perserved with formaldehyde solutions which have an
unpleasant odor and also should be handled with care.
After you have collected all the specimens:
Compare and Discuss:
What are the similarities and differences between the brains?
What are their relative sizes?
Identify areas of the brain.
Cortex? Cerebellum? Cranial nerves?
Are their noticeable differences in any particular parts of the
Is the cortex smooth or rough?
Compare placement of the cerebellum and spinal cord.
Compare size of olfactory bulb.
Compare size of cerebral cortex.
Discuss brain weight vs body weight issues.
Discuss brain size and intelligence.
Discuss language and brain size.
Discuss cortical expansion in higher species.
Use a long knife (for LAB USE ONLY!) to make a midsaggital cut (a cut
right down the middle, the long way from front to back) to split the brain
in half if you want to see internal structures (and if the brains belong
Identify and compare internal brain structures using the brain
Some areas of the brain that should be easy to identify are the:
corpus callosum
inferior and superior colliculus
cingulate cortex
cerebellum
Try making some
These can be coronal (frontal) sections
(across the brain, side to side) to see other brain structures not visible
along the midline.
Identify and compare what you see.
Materials:
A long knife (this should only be used inside the lab)
Trays (to hold brain specimens)
Gloves (for handling specimens)
Masks if the odor is strong
Brain atlas
Pointing devices (popsicle stick, probe, toothpick) to identify
structures
Model a Retinal Image
Grades 4-12
The brain has a tough job.
It is works all the time and the eye
has to make things difficult.
The convex nature of the lens of the eye
turns an image upside down on the . The
brain must make sense of this and
turn it "right-side up".
To model what a convex lens does to an image,
get a magnifying glass.
Find a white wall or tape a white piece of paper
to a wall that faces a window.
Hold the magnifying glass close (3 10
cm) to the white wall or paper.
You should see an inverted image of
whatever is outside of the window.
This is what is projected onto your
Materials:
Magnifying glass
White Wall or Paper and tape
Read more about the .
Grades 3-12
can travel in neurons at speeds up to 268 miles/hr! These signals are
transmitted from neuron (nerve cell) to neuron across "synapses."
Let's make a chain of neurons...have everyone stand up and form a line.
Each person in the line is a neuron.
As shown in the figure on the right,
your left hand are the d your b
your right arm is an axon and your right hand is the synaptic terminal.
Your right hand should have a small vial of liquid or some other item,
such as a button or pebble, to represent neurotransmitters.
Each person should be about arms length away from the next person. When
the leader says "GO," have the person at the beginning of the line start
the signal transmission by placing his or her "neurotransmitter" into the
hand of the adjacent person.
Once this message is received, this second
neuron places its neurotransmitter into the dendrite of the next neuron.
The third neuron then places its neurotransmitter into the dendrites of
the next neuron and the "signal" travels to the end of the line.
transmission is complete when the "signal" goes all the way to the end of
Remember that each "neuron" will pass its own transmitter to the next
neuron in line. Each neuron HAS ITS OWN neurotransmitter.
Let's review What are the parts of a
The hand that receives the neurotransmitter is the "dendrite."
The middle part of your body is the "soma"
or "cell body."
The arm that
passes the neurotransmitter to the next person is the "axon" and the hand
that gives the slap is the "synaptic terminal".
In between the hands of
two people is the "synaptic gap".
For more about the parts of a neuron,
and . Measure how long it takes the message
to get from the first neuron to the last.
Also, measure the distance from
the first to the last neuron.
Now calculate the speed.
How fast did the
message travel from first to last neuron?
Why do you think the speed of
transmission of the model is so slow?
Materials:
neurotransmitters
Saltatory Conduction
Grades 3-12
is a way that myelinated axons transmit action potentials.
Action potentials jump from node to node.
To model this, have everyone
stand up and form a straight line. Each person should be at arms length of
the next person. Give the last person in line a small object like a ball
or an eraser.
This time, each person does NOT make up an individual
This time, everyone together is a SINGLE neuron and each person
is a "myelinated section" of an axon.
The space between each person is a
node of Ranvier.
To start the axon potential, someone should say "go".
The first person will slap the hand of the neighboring person, then that
person will slap the hand of the next person etc., etc.
Remember, in this
model, the line of people is just one
When the action potential gets to the last person holding the object,
have this person toss the object into the air. This represents the
neurotransmitter (the object) floating out into the synaptic cleft (the
You can also measure the time it takes the signal to move down the axon
using a stopwatch.
Measure the approximate distance the signal must
travel (the total distance of the all the people).
If you then divide the
distance by the time, you will get the speed (conduction velocity) of the
The conduction velocity of this model neuron will most likely be
much slower than in the fastest of real neurons (about 268 miles/hr).
Don't forget to read more about
Materials:
Action Potential Game
Grades 4-12
Game designed by Jessica Koch
Objective: Race to raise the resting potential above
threshold to fire an .
Background: When neurotransmitters cross a synapse, they
can bind with receptors on dendrites.
This binding can result in a change
in the electrical potential of a neuron.
An excitatory postsynaptic
potential occurs with the neuron becomes depolarized, raising the
electrical potential from its baseline of about -70 mV and bringing it
closer to threshold and increasing the chance that an action potential
will fire.
An inhibitory postsynaptic potential occurs when the
electrical potential is lowered, making it less likely an action potential
will be generated.
If the electrical potential is raised so that it
reaches the threshold, an action potential will fire down the axon of a
How to Play:
Players should be divided into two teams:
the Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential (EPSP) Team and the Inhibitory
Postsynaptic Potential (IPSP)
The teams will race to see who can
get the greatest signal to their team's cell body in 30 seconds. Each team
lines up to act like a dendrite.
A signal, (a small ball), is passed from
person to person much like how an electrical signal travels down a
dendrite toward the cell body.
Each EPSP team signal successfully
transferred to the cell body is worth +5 or +10 mV (millivolts); each IPSP
Team signal is worth -5 or -10 mV.
The signals are passed down the
dendrites until they reach the end and are tossed into the cell body
container. Only one signal ball can be passed at a time meaning that a
dendrite must drop the ball (signal) into the cell body container before
the first person in the dendrite can pass the next ball (signal).
To Win: The typical resting potential of a neuron is -70
mV. To cause an action potential the membrane potential must reach -55 mV.
Therefore at the end of 30 seconds the signals are summed from the cell
body container. The total amount of millivolts is added to -70 mV to see if an
action potential is fired. If an action potential is fired the EPSP team
wins! If not then the IPSP team wins!
Materials:
3 large containers or tupperware
About 32 ping pong balls, labeled with black marker -5, +5, -10,
+10 (8 of each).
Each ball should also be labeled with the team name:
EPSP or IPSP.
Game Set-up
Grades K-6
It's a bird, it's a plane....no it's "Nervous System Kid" (also known as
"Brain Boy" or "Gyri Girl")! Get a large piece of butcher paper - large
enough for a student to lie down on.
Have a student lie down on this
paper and outline his or her body.
Now fill-in and color this outline
with parts of the nervous system or use the pictures of the organs
supplied below.
The brain and spinal cord should be
Don't forget the sense organs (eyes, ears, mouth, nose, skin).
Follow a diagram of the peripheral nerves to add more features to your
Also, label the structures that are drawn.
Materials:
Butcher paper
Markers (to outline and color the picture)
Pens and pencils (to label the structures)
Pictures of internal and sense organs - cut out, paste on your body
outline and color (use the "back" button of your browser to bring you
back to this page):
- The Cerebrospinal
Grades 3-12
has several functions.
these functions is to protect the brain from sudden impacts.
demonstrate how this works, we need to bring in "Mr. Egghead."
Egghead is a raw egg with drawn-on face.
The inside of the egg represents
the brain and the egg shell represents the pia mater (the inner most layer
Put Mr. Egghead in a container (tupperwear works fine) that is a bit
larger than the egg.
The container represents the skull.
Now put a tight
top on the container and shake it.
You should observe that shaking the
"brain" (the egg) in this situation results in "damage" (a broken egg).
Now repeat this experiment with a new Mr. Egghead, except this time, fill
the container with water.
The water represents the cerebrospinal
Note that shaking the container does not cause the "brain damage"
as before because the fluid has cushioned the brain from injury.
You could make this into a science fair project:
test the hypothesis that
"The cerebrospinal fluid and skull protect the brain from impact injury."
Drop Mr. Egghead from a standard height (or heights) in different
conditions:
1) with fluid in the container, 2) without fluid in the
container, 3) with different fluids or materials (sand, rocks) or 4) in
different shaped containers, etc. Make sure you keep notes to record
your observations!
Materials:
Eggs (at least 2)
Markers to draw on a face (waterproof)
Plastic container with top.
Water (to fill the container)
Slice and Dice - Learning Directions and Planes of
Grades 3-12
One way to learn the
is to model the brain with fruit.
That's right,
fruit....the bigger the better...a melon (honey dew or cantaloupe) works
Make eyes, a nose, ears and a mouth out of cork and stick them on
the melon head with toothpicks.
Or better yet, get a set of "Mr. Potato
Head" body parts and stick them into the melon.
The eyes, nose, ear and
mouth give a sense of "which way is the front" to the round melon.
make your sections with a large knife...a coronal (frontal) section first,
then a horizontal section, then a sagittal section.
the correct directions and planes.
Materials:
A melon - a honey dew or cantaloupe work
Cork or Mr. Potato Head body pieces
Knife - to cut melon
Emotion Notion
Grades K-6
How many emotions do you have?
Happy, sad, mad, surprised?
"Emotion Collage" by cutting out magazine pictures of people expressing
different emotions.
Glue the pictures on a piece of paper or make a
poster to show the different emotions.
You could make separate papers
or posters of different emotions.
Materials:
Magazines with pictures of people
Paper or poster board
Comparisons
Grades 3-12
How is your brain similar to other objects?
For example, how is your
brain like a bowl of Jell-O?
How is it different?
Are they both soft?
Do they have layers?
Can they store information? Do they use electricity?
Do they contain chemicals?
Give each person a different object.
person must make a list of similarities and differences between their
object and a brain.
Materials:
Suggested objects:
Jell-O, tape recorder, balloon, apple, camera,
computer, telephone, book, ball.
Brain Charades
Grades 3-6
Although it's not too difficult to describe what the brain does, it's not
too easy to act it out.
Try to describe the functions of the brain and
nervous system with this game of "Brain Charades."
Write down words that describe brain functions on small pieces of paper.
This table of words will help you get started:
VisionSmellTasteTouchHearing
EmotionsMovementMemorySpeechHeart
BreathingThinkingPlanningProblem
SolvingReading
HormonesSleepBalanceEatingDrinking
Mix the papers in a bowl, bag or a hat.
A player should pick a paper out
of the bowl then act out the function.
Everyone else should try to guess
what the player is acting out.
Actors must remain silent.
When someone
guesses the action, write the word on the board.
Another player should
select a new word and act it out.
Repeat the game until all of the words
have been identified correctly.
Materials:
Pen or pencil
Container for words