Materials Required:
Beads (to represent different components within blood)
Water
Cups (for blood vessels)
Bowl
Latch-hook canvas (to represent nephron and glomerulus)
Colored spoons (to simulate transporter proteins)
Pipette or eye dropper
Steps Involved:
Start by placing beads and water in the Renal Artery cup.
Position the latch-hook canvas over the bowl to represent the nephron and glomerulus.
Pour the “blood” (beads and water) over the latch-hook canvas to simulate blood filtration.
Observe how large blood components (red blood cells, white blood cells, and proteins) are caught in the filter and move them into the Renal Vein cup.
Use colored spoons to transfer glucose, amino acids, and some salt from the bowl to the Renal Vein cup, demonstrating the process of reabsorption (diffusion). Emphasize that each spoon represents a specific molecule.
Discuss the time it takes for the body to perform these functions compared to the activity’s process.
Use the pipette or dropper to simulate osmosis by moving water from the nephron to the Renal Vein cup.
Note what is left in the bowl (urine) and discuss its path through the ureter and into the bladder.
Conclude with a discussion on the implications of a hole in the glomerulus and introduce the concept of dialysis for future lessons.