Animal Cell

• 1). Place a large pot on a level surface, and line the pot with a large clear sealable bag. The pot will allow the bag to remain upright and open while model parts are being added and will be removed from the cell model later.
  
  
• 2). Create enough gelatin to fill the bag lining the pot three-quarters full. Clear gelatin is preferred, but other light colors, such as yellow, are suitable.
  
  
• 3). Fill the bag inside the pot with the gelatin until it is two-thirds to three-quarters full. Enough space should be left at the top to allow the addition of the items being used for the cellular organelles. The gelatin represents the cytoplasm of the cell. Close the bag, and move the pot into the refrigerator to allow the gelatin to partially set.
  
  
• 4). Retrieve the pot from the refrigerator and open the bag. Add items to the bag to represent the major cell structures of an animal cell. For smaller models, it may be necessary to substitute items of a smaller scale. A whole walnut may be used to represent the nucleus; cashew halves for mitochondria; fruit rolls for smooth endoplasmic reticulum, rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatuses; peanuts for lysosomes; black peppercorns for ribosomes; and gumdrops for vacuoles.
  
  
• 5). Reseal the bag after adding all the cellular components, and remove the bag from the pot. Reinforce the seal with tape to help prevent the bag from accidentally opening.
  
  

Plant Cell

• 1). Place the pot on a level surface, and line the pot with a large clear sealable bag. Place a smaller clear sealable bag inside the larger bag so that both bags are open and accessible.
  
  
• 2). Create enough gelatin to fill the bag lining the pot three-quarters full. Clear gelatin is preferred but other light colors, such as yellow, are suitable.
  
  
• 3). Fill the smaller of the two bags inside the pot with gelatin until it is full and then close it. Pour the rest of the gelatin around the inner bag until the outer bag is two-thirds to three-quarters full. Enough space should be left at the top to allow the addition of the items being used for the cellular organelles. The gelatin represents the cytoplasm of the cell, while the inner bag represents the large vacuole found in plant cells. Close the bag, and move the pot into the refrigerator to allow the gelatin to partially set.
  
  
• 4). Retrieve the pot from the refrigerator, and open the bag. Add items to the bag to represent the major cell structures of a plant cell. A whole walnut may be used to represent the nucleus; cashew halves for mitochondria; fruit rolls for smooth endoplasmic reticulum, rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatuses; peanuts for lysosomes; black peppercorns for ribosomes; and gumdrops for small vacuoles. Add halved pecans to represent the chloroplasts of the plant cell.
  
  
• 5). Reseal the bag after adding all of the cellular components, and remove the bag from the pot. Reinforce the seal with tape to help prevent the bag from accidentally opening. Place the model in a shoebox or similar-sized box to represent the cell wall of the plant cell.