My 5 year old is learning all about the body this year, and this week we spent time learning about our skin. To start off the week, we talked about the different layers beneath the skin we see with our eyes. The concept can be so new to kids his age, so we made this fun model to help him understand how cool our body really is! We also loved this video which talks about the different layers in a unique way that the kids would understand.
The skin has 3 main layers – Epidermis, Dermis, and Subcutaneous tissue(fat) (Image obtained from Healthline). The Epidermis is where all our new skin cells are formed to replace the dead cells that are lost constantly. The Dermis houses all our blood cells(veins, arteries) which are busy at work responding to and transmitting everything you feel through your skin to the brain. The Subcutaneous layer is like a nice cushion that softens our fall and keeps us warm. The hair we see on our top skin actually starts from this layer. Pretty cool, huh! Now, let’s make the model.
Materials needed for this model:
- Mason jar (or) any clear cup/bottle
- *Water beads(pink and orange)
- Clear hair gel
- **Colored pasta
- Play-doh
- Pipe cleaners
* To make water beads – Take some water beads and soak them in water overnight. I used only a handful of each color for this activity and I normally use 10 times the water to play it safe.
**To make colored pasta – cook some pasta and cool it down. In a Ziploc bag add some pasta, a few drops of food coloring, and hand sanitizer. Mix them thoroughly and let it dry overnight.
SUBCUTANEOUS FAT
We will start making the model from the bottom up. We will be using our Orange water beads for this one. Fill one-quarter of the container with the orange beads.
DERMIS
The dermis layer will have to be clear in order to see the blood vessels inside, with some viscosity to support another layer on top of it. So we are using clear hair gel for this layer. Fill a quarter of the container with hair gel.
Add one red(artery) and one blue(vein) pasta to the gel. The pasta will nicely sit on top of the hair gel given it’s viscosity. Fill another quarter of the container with the gel. The Dermis layer is complete!
EPIDERMIS
The epidermis layer should be light enough to sit on top of the hair gel, but also firm enough to support the top skin. We will use pink water beads for this layer. Fill less than a quarter of the container with the beads. Leave enough space on the top for the top skin and hair
For the top layer, we will use Play-Doh. Roll out the Play-Doh into a thin layer. Gently place it on top of the Epidermis (pink beads). It gives a nice illusion of the dead cells which is our skin.
For the hair, we will use the pipe cleaner. I colored it black with the food coloring too to give a realistic color. Push the pipe cleaner all the way to the bottom of the jar. (The hair starts from the subcutaneous layer)
That’s it! Our model is complete. It looked beautiful in the end. Letting it stand for a while made it even more perfect (the second picture). It’s always fun mixing learning with play.
