CELLS

Nicholas' class just started a new section-the human body. Therefore, last week I had the pleasure of visiting his class to talk about the mysterious little wonders known as cells.

I started off the lecture describing the human body as a house. I asked the kids what things are in a a house, and they replied that there are rooms in a house. We talked about how all rooms have similar features, but that there are also differences. That is what makes a kitchen different from a living room and a nerve cell different from a skin cell.

Next, I built a man out of different colored Lego blocks. I forgot my body plan and ended up making a man without arms. The kids got a major kick out of that one!

In order to get them back on track and silence the laughter, I asked for a volunteer. All the children raised their hands... even before I told them what was next. I was having a hard time picking a helper, but Ollie, one of Nicholas' friends, reminded me that he had told me first that he wanted to help out. Lori, Nicholas' teacher, said I was in charge, so I picked Ollie.

I took a cheek scraping to get some cells from Ollie, and then we placed the cells on a slide and stained them. Not certain that this would work, I was smart enough to bring a slide that had been previously prepared- of a prostate (see above). The kids gazed at the slide under the microscope, thinking that they were Ollie's cells, and they were truly in awe (I am not sure I will share this post with Nicholas until he is 21 for fear of breaking his heart!)

I next showed a youtube video of cells dividing on my laptop, which allowed the kids to practice some math, too. 1->2->4, etc.

I closed with a discussion about why we bother to study cells. The kids said we did so because it helps us understand how we get sick and how to get well. I said they were right and that is exactly what motivated me to study cells.

The kids thanked me, and I could tell by the looks in their eyes that there will be more than one scientist from this class. Perhaps even my own son...