Olivia worked on her Science Project yesterday.  No, it was not a food project, it is a representation of a plant cell and a few of the key parts. 

Chloroplasts (green stringy thing) are found in plant cells. They capture energy from the sunlight and use it to produce food for the cell (photosynthesis).

Mitochondria (red stringy thing) provide the energy a cell needs to move, divide – in short, they are the power centers of the cell.

Cell Membrane (inner part of the Tupperware) protects the cell and regulates the substances that enter and leave the cell wall (Tupperware).

Golgi Bodies (white wormy things) primary function as the cell’s mailroom. They receive proteins and send them to other parts of the cell.

Ribosomes (red balls) function is to transfer proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum to the golgi bodies.

Vacuole (big rubber ball) is found in the cytoplasm (Jell-O) of most plant cells and some animal cells. In general, vacuoles functions include:

1. Removing unwanted structural debris
2. Isolating materials that might be harmful or a threat to the cell
3. Containing waste products
4. Maintaining internal hydrostatic pressure within the cell
5. Maintaining an acidic internal pH
6. Containing small molecules
7. Exporting unwanted substances from the cell
8. Enabling the cell to change shape

Endoplasmic Reticulum (stringy things that sunk) are passageways that carry material from one part of the cell to the other.

Nucleus (small rubber ball that also sunk) directs all of the cell’s activities, including reproduction.

Cytoplasm (green Jell-O — edible, sort of) is a gelatinous, semi-transparent fluid that fills most cells.