Body Systems: Skeletal System: Edible Bone Model

Do you know what your bones are made up of?  They contain two types of bone tissue: compact bone and spongy bone, bone marrow, and a thin covering.  Blood vessels continuously carry blood to and from the bones. 

If you'd like to make it easier for your students to remember the components of bones as well as their properties, consider having them make an edible model of a bone. 

Pretend that the red yarn is Twizzlers Pull & Peel strings.  I forgot to get them at the grocery store, but had everything else and didn't want to hold things up, so I substituted.

To make your bone model, you'll need:
tortilla
lady fingers
sugar wafers
strawberry jam
Twizzlers Pull & Peel

Place the tortilla on a plate. 

Open the lady fingers and place them along the center of the tortilla.

Spread the lady fingers with the jam.

Lay the licorice down the middle of the lady fingers. 

Sandwich the lady fingers together.  Place the sugar wafers along the sides of the lady fingers.

Wrap the whole thing in the tortilla.

Wrap another piece of licorice around the tortilla.

Your model is complete!  But, before you eat it, make sure you note what each part represents:

Licorice strings are blood vessels.
Strawberry jam is the bone marrow.
Lady fingers are the spongy bone.
Sugar wafers are the compact bone.
The tortilla is the membrane covering the bone.

One version of this activity can be found here, but I first learned about it elsewhere.  I have no idea what the original source is.