SUBJECT: Making models of tissues and organs
DATE: 9/95

I am a new subscriber to the list. I would like my students in histology labs
to make 3-D models of tissues and organs, using materials which will last for
years. I need ideas for materials to use -- especially for cellular
construction. I have thought of flour/salt, papier mache, and rapid drying
drywall plaster, but these are all opaque. Does anyone know of non-opaque
materials which could be used safely? I would appreciate any comments addressed
to me or to the list. I would think that quite a number of people may be
interested. Thanks.

From: greggk@acad.winthrop.edu


Have you considered using heavy, transparent plastic like the plastic
used to bind reports, etc. It could be folded and glued and remain quite
stiff, I would think.
Janice
***********************************
Janice M. Glime
Department of Biological Sciences
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
jmglime@mtu.edu
906-487-2546
FAX 906-487-3167
***********************************


I have seen material designed for making "water" in model trains
displays... It was relatively clear, but I'm not sure how fluid the raw
material is. You could check with your local hobby shop for similar
products and information.--cmw

Charlene M. Waggoner, Ph.D. cwaggon@andy.bgsu.edu
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403



A subscriber (my spouse) passed along a posting about model making. Although
the topic was distinctly zoological, my botanical experiences cross kingdom
boundaries.

For semester projects, I suggested to my plant morphology students that they
create 3-D models of any number of structures: leaf gaps, sieve tube members,
vessel elements, pit pairs, plasmodesmata, etc. They could use any material
they wished. I got some outstanding and very durable models (at no cost to me
or my dept.) which were used year after year in th course. Components included
PVC pipe, Pringle cartons, laminated woods, poster board, soda straws, and
paint. It was really amazing to see how creative students could be, and more
importantly, it allowed them to create 3-D models of things that they saw on
microslides or electron micrographs. Most students have a difficult time
conceptualizing three dimensional objects in their mind's eye.

There is an abstract of this published in the 1993 volume of the Association
of Southeastern Biologists, where the topic was displayed as a poster session.
I did take Kodachrome slides of many of the best, and would be will to share
those images with anyone who might be interested.

Jim Perry
Campus Dean and Assoc. Prof. of Biological Sciences
University of Wisconsin Center - Fox Valley
Midway Road at University Drive
Menasha, WI 54952


Model building Clay, Playdough, Pipe Cleaner, plastic, glass overlays, etc
.. All really nice. But if you want to really build histological models,
Use serial sections, a digital frame grabber, and build 3-D rotatable models.
Using the "virtual world" of the computer, you can work with actual images
and, in my opinion, actually get more out of it.

As to the comment about involving an art department. YES... Some years back
we were building 1 to 10,000,000 scales of membranes using toothpicks, plates,
cotton, pipe cleaner, etc. We found the art teachers in High Schools picked up
on this model building and whoopie we had some biology going on in art classes
where asymmetry and membrane topics were discussed.

Blystone in Texas

**********************
ROBERT V. BLYSTONE PHONE:(210)736-7243
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY FAX:(210)736-7229
Trinity University E-Mail:RBlyston@Trinity.edu
715 Stadium Drive
San Antonio, TX, 78212


Thanks to everyone who replied to my request for ideas of how to build models of
tissues and organs -- especially clear gel-like materials. For squamous cells,
we can use two layers of clear plastic, cut and glued together, with a colored
sphere inside to represent the nucleus. For casting other types of cells, there
is a clear casting resin available ($89/gallon from Carolina Biological, and
$49/gallon from Science Hobbies in Charlotte, NC).

From: greggk@acad.winthrop.edu

---

Biolab Home Page