Pipe Cleaner Neurons

7th grade ScienceNervous System Unit

Step 1

Choose 7 pipe cleaners of different colors

Step 2

CELL BODY

Take one pipe cleaner and roll it into a pin-wheel like ball.

Step 3AXON

Push another pipe cleaner through the center of the cell body so that there are two halves sticking out. Try to “lock” the loose pinwheel end into place. Twist the two halves together so that they form a lollipop stick like extension.

Step 4DENDRITES

Cut three pipe cleaners in half. Push a pipe cleaner through the center of the cell body and twist to lock in place. Twist and curl the ends randomly. Repeat for the rest of the pipe cleaner halves.

Step 5

MYELIN SHEATH

Wrap 1 pipe cleaner around the length of the axon.

Step 6

AXON / SYNAPTIC TERMINAL

Wrap a pipe cleaner around the end of the axon to form a tight ball.

In a paragraph, tell the “story” of the nerve cell. Use this vocabulary:

• Cell Body• Dendrites• Axon• Myelin Sheath• Axon / Synaptic Terminal • Electrical Impulse

In a neuron, the electrical impulse or message starts in the….