Download Play-Doh Brain Instructions

Play-Doh Brain Instructions
 1. Here are your reference tools:
(1)brain packet, (2) Weiten pg. 92),
(3) Myers pg. 65.
Prepare your Cerebrum – make two large,
flat pancake-like structures, at least as big
as your hand with extended fingers. Then,
wrinkle it down to resemble the furrows of
the cerebrum. You must make an
indentation where the lateral fissure runs
(the “thumb” of the “boxing glove” or
“mitten” – think state of Michigan). Set
aside the two hemispheres of the
cerebrum. Note: The outer ¼” of the
cerebrum is the cerebral cortex, the center
of intellectual (higher) thought.
Prepare the Brainstem with
Thalamus “bulb” –
 Make a slightly lopsided “chicken leg” or
“brontosaurus head and neck.”
 Then make a Medulla Oblongata in the
shape of a small football (about 1.5” long).
The Medulla should be a different color
from your brainstem/thalamus bulb.
 After that, make the RAS (Reticular
Activating System) – aka Reticular
Formation - from yet another different color
– about ½ diameter of medulla and about
1” long.
Prepare the Brainstem with
Thalamus “bulb” – ctd.
 Make a furrow (or “canoe”) in the medulla and insert
the RAS. Close it up by folding over the playdoh and
re-shaping.
 Then make another furrow (or “canoe”) in the brain
stem and enclose the medulla/RAS. Again, fold over
playdoh and re-shape.
 Then make a thalamus (ball about 1” diameter) and
hypothalamus (pea-sized) from two different colors
and enclose them in the thalamus bulb, with the
thalamus on top and slightly behind (i.e.,
hypothalamus should be in front of thalamus and
below = “hypo”).
 Prepare the Pons – Make a 5-6”
thin snake from a different color than
the brainstem and flatten it out. Wrap
it around the back of the brainstem
(like a scarf), just below the thalamus
bulb and pinch it together in the front
(creating a waddle or turkey
“gobbler”).
 Prepare the Cerebellum – Make 2
small balls (each slightly smaller than
thalamus) from a color different than
the brainstem or pons. Flatten into a
yo-yo shape and make gyri and sulci
(ridges and valleys). Attach on the
back of the pons.
 7. Prepare the Optic Chiasm –
Take 2 small pieces and roll into 1”
long snakes/worms. Make an “X” with
these snakes/worms. Connect to the
brainstem/thalamus bulb right above
the pons on the front (rostral) side.
Prepare the Hippocampus and
Amygdala –
 Make a 6” snake, ¼ - ½” in diameter.
Looking from the back of your brain, place
the middle of the snake in the back middle of
the thalamus (creating a “U” just above the
cerebellum) and curl the ends of the snake
around the sides of the thalamus bulb,
creating 2 structures in the shape of ram’s
horns.
 Place a small (pea-sized) lump at the tip of
each horn for the amygdalae (almondshaped structures on the tips of
hippocampus).
 Prepare the Pituitary and Pineal
Glands – Make 2 small balls, 1 twice
the size of the other. Pituitary is the
larger of these structures (pinto bean
shape). Pineal gland is smaller, about
the size of a pea. These structures
will be attached later.
 Prepare the Corpus Callosum –
Make a crescent moon shape, about
twice as long as the thalamus bulb
from front to back. The corpus
callosum will be attached in the next
step.
Final assembly –
 Lay out one hemisphere of the cerebrum
(set aside in step 3) with the ridges down.
Carefully place the completed brainstem
and midbrain structures on it, with the
cerebellum sticking out the back and the
pons out the front.
 Position the corpus callosum above the
hippocampus and thalamus bulb, leaving
space between for the ventricles.
Final Assembly, Ctd.
 Place the pituitary in front of the optic
chiasm.
 Place the pineal in back, above the
cerebellum.
 Finally place the other hemisphere of the
cerebrum over the top (smooth side down)
and seal around the edges, molding into
the shape of a brain. The second
hemisphere needs to “mirror” the first.