How can I build a 3-D model of an animal cell using common items?

Answer 1

I'd recommend Playdough (or similar clay material) as the basis. You can make your own "dough" or buy some. If you use different color Playdough, you can easily distinguish the parts of the cell. And you can add paper flags glued to toothpicks to label the different parts (or make a color-coded legend).

If you find items that you want to have represent cell parts (e.g. threads = filaments, marbles = mitocondria, pipe cleaners = centrosome, etc.) you can just stick that into your clay model. For things you can't find items for, just make them out of different colored clay. But I think clay as the basis for the cell model makes a lot of sense.

Answer 2

We used a large Styrofoam ball that we cut a wedge from and added all kinds of things as the cell parts (key rings, play dough, wire, strings, ) Be creative , have fun!

Answer 3

bake a cake and use colored frostings, gels, and candies to add all of the different cell parts