Animal Cell

• 1). Line the inside of a pot with a large sealable bag. The metal pot will allow the bag to remain upright and open while adding model parts.
  
  
• 2). Mix enough clear gelatin to fill the sealable bag three-quarters full. To make 1/4 cup of gelatin, combine a small packet of gelatin powder with 1/4 cup of cold water. Stir the mixture of gelatin and water, then heat for 40 seconds in the microwave. Remove the gelatin from the microwave and stir again.
  
  
• 3). Pour the gelatin into the large sealable bag in the pot. The gelatin will represent the cytoplasm of the cell.
  
  
• 4). Close the bag and allow the gelatin to partially set for one hour in the refrigerator, while it is still in the pot.
  
  
• 5). Remove the pot containing the bag of gelatin from the refrigerator and open the bag. Add the cell components to the bag of gelatin. Cell organelles may be represented in an animal cell model by a plum (nucleus), mitochondria (mandarin orange slices), fruit rolls (Golgi apparatus, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and rough endoplasmic reticulum), jawbreakers (peroxisomes), peanuts (lysosomes), gumdrops (vacuoles), round cake sprinkles (ribosomes), and pieces of licorice (centrosome).
  
  
• 6). Reseal the bag and remove it from the pot. Refrigerate the model until it is ready for display.
  
  

Plant Cell

• 1). Line the inside of a pot with a large sealable bag. The metal pot will allow the bag to remain upright and open while adding model parts.
  
  
• 2). Mix enough clear gelatin to fill the sealable bag three-quarters full. To make 1/4 cup gelatin, a small packet of gelatin is combined with 1/4 cup of cold water. Stir the mixture of gelatin and water and then heat for 40 seconds in the microwave. Remove the gelatin from the microwave and stir again.
  
  
• 3). Pour the gelatin first into the small inner bag until it is full, and then seal the bag. Continue filling the large sealable bag around the inner bag until it is approximately three-quarters full. The gelatin will represent the cytoplasm of the cell. Close the bag and allow the gelatin to partially set for one hour in the refrigerator, while it is still in the pot.
  
  
• 4). Remove the pot containing the bag of gelatin from the refrigerator and open the bag. Add additional cell components to the bag of gelatin. Cell organelles may be represented in an plant cell model by a plum (nucleus), mitochondria (mandarin orange slices), fruit rolls (Golgi apparatus, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and rough endoplasmic reticulum), jawbreakers (peroxisomes), round cake sprinkles (ribosomes), and rod-shaped cake sprinkles (centrosome).
  
  
• 5). Reseal the large outer bag and remove from the pot. Place the bag in a similar-sized shoebox to represent the cell wall surrounding the plant cell. Refrigerate the model until ready for display.