Alien Cell Dissection

By Todd Nickle , Mont Royal University

At a Glance

Discipline

STEM
Biology

Instructional Level

University

Tasks in Workflow

Social Plane(s)

Whole Class

Type of Tasks

Solving problems

Technical Details

Time

Single class period (< 90 mins)

Instructional Purpose

Application & knowledge building

Overview

In this activity, the instructor builds an alien cell out of different materials (see pdf) that resemble the organelles and compartments of a normal, plant cell. The instructor brings the alien cell to class and gets students to investigate what kind of cell it is.

The instructor dissects the alien cell while one student films what is happening up close. The video is projected onto a white board so that the whole class can see.

Students participate by sharing their cell knowledge with the class. Together, the class deduces what organelles are present in the alien cell and how they function, and compare them to the organelles of a normal plant cell.

Instructional Objectives

Students apply their knowledge of normal “terrestrial” cells to a new scenario (an alien cell), and learn to recognize cellular components based off of their location in the cell, or by their morphology or function.

Students also practice working as a team.

Workflow & Materials

Activity Workflow

View on CourseFlow

Document

Alien Cell Building Guide

Todd Nickle

Contributor's Notes

Benefits

Students really enjoy this activity because of its tactile nature. The fact that the dissection occurs in ‘real time’ before them makes them feel like they are really part of the process and encourages them to participate in the dissection.

Challenges

Not really any in-class challenges. The challenges of this activity lie in building the alien cell. Instructors need to make sure to follow the instructions carefully, especially in cutting up the grapefruit for the nucleus.

Tips

This activity works best as participation rather than calling on students to answer specific questions. It creates a more inclusive environment that naturally encourages students to participate.

Feedback Cancel reply

Published: 18/09/2018

Copyright: © 2025 Nickle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication on this website is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.