What are the four stages of prenatal development and how do they function to help us grow? Learn about development in this fun activity!
Materials
1 cutie or small orange
Bag or handful of m&m's
Bowl
1 piece of paper
1 pencil
Play-doh
Rolling pin
Pair of kids’ scissors
Time Estimated:
20 minutes
Directions:
Cell Division:
For this activity, you will start by grabbing the 1 cutie or small orange that you got from your supplies list.
Take the cutie and place it on a flat surface.
Using your hands, peel all of the skin off of the orange/cutie and throw the peel in the trash.
Once you have peeled the cutie, tear it in half, forming two equal halves of the orange.
Start peeling each individual cutie slice apart from the cutie halves.
At the end, you should have broken apart the entire orange to have a total of 7-14 individual slices, depending on its size.
Cell Differentiation:
First, dump the m&m’s into the bowl. Notice how there are a variety of colors. Each color represents a different cell type.
Now, let's organize the m&m’s into piles by color.
Red will represent the cells that help the brain develop.
Blue will represent the cells that help the muscles develop.
Green will represent the cells that help the cardiovascular system develop.
Cell Migration:
First, use a pencil to draw out the outline of the person. The image of the person should take up the space of a standard 8.5” by 11” piece of paper.
Next, move the red m&m’s to the head of the person on the piece of paper.
Then, move the blue m&m’s to the arm of the person drawn out of the paper.
Finally, move the green m&m’s to the center of the body.
You can now recognize that there are three separate groups of m&m’s that have been sorted by color!
Apoptosis:
For this stage of development, you will need to grab the pencil, play-dough, and rolling pin from your supplies list.
Put these items onto a flat surface such as a table that you can stand next to.
Take out all of the play-dough and use the rolling pin to roll out the play-dough into a flat, rectangular shape.
Next, place the hand of your choice (either left or right) and firmly press it into your flattened play-dough shape.
Once you have finished pressing your hand into the play-doh, remove your hand. You should see the outline that you made!
Use the scissors to cut out the hand outline from the rest of the play-dough.
Move the remaining play-dough away from the hand that you have created.
The final product should be a hand-like shape made out of the play-dough.
Think Like a Scientist!
What do you think could potentially affect the four stages of prenatal development?
More specifically, what should a mother avoid doing to avoid impeding her baby’s growth?
Why might doctors and other medical professionals monitor prenatal development?
Why is it important to track the development of a baby?
Did your mother have any issues or concerns that occurred during the early stages of her pregnancy?
What do you think you looked like in the womb?
What are cells?
Cells can make copies of themselves. How do you think they do this?
What kinds of foods did your mother eat to make sure that you could grow and go through each prenatal stage smoothly?
How Does it Work?
Let’s take a closer look at the four individual stages of this process. We will start with cell division. When a baby is growing inside the womb, it starts out as just one tiny cell. That cell divides into two cells, then four cells, then eight cells, and so on. These cells keep dividing and multiplying until there are billions that make up the initial structure of the baby’s body.
After dividing, the cells begin organizing themselves into different bodily structures, such as the heart, lungs, and digestive system. This is called cell differentiation. Think about when you participate in a group project and how each person in the group has a specific task. Similarly, each cell in our body has a specific job to do. All of our cells start out the same but as they grow and develop, they start to look and act differently from one another. This is because they turn on different genes that tell them what to do and how to look. So just like how everyone in a group project has their own strengths and abilities, cells in our body have their own strengths and abilities too.
Next, cell migration helps cell differentiation by moving cells to different parts of the body to form various body parts like the eyes, skin, and even the brain. When the cells move they can take on special roles that allow your eyes to see, your skin to protect your body, and your brain to think. All of these processes happen very quickly in the early stages of pregnancy, and by the end of the first three months, all of the major organs and body systems have formed. As the baby continues to grow and develop, the cells continue to divide, differentiate, and organize themselves into more complex structures.
The fourth and final stage of prenatal development is apoptosis, which you can think of as similar to a self-destruct button for cells that are no longer needed. Certain cells shrink, break apart, and get absorbed by other cells. It's a natural process that helps keep our bodies healthy and functioning properly. Think of it like cleaning up your room. Sometimes you need to throw away old toys, broken pencils, or things you don’t need anymore. It’s the same with our bodies - sometimes we need to get rid of old, damaged cells to make room for new ones. By the end of the pregnancy, the baby is fully developed. The cells have divided and grown, moved and taken on special tasks, and died off to form a functioning body.
Further Exploration:
This activity is a demonstration of prenatal development. Prenatal development refers to the process by which a baby develops in the womb. This process involves four stages: cell division (where cells grow in numbers), cell differentiation (where cells take on special roles and become unique from one another), cell migration (where cells move from one place to another within the body), and apoptosis (certain cells die off in order to properly form parts of the body such as fingers and toes). These stages allow for the formation of major organs and body systems. During these stages, the growing baby (fetus) goes through significant changes, reaching many important developmental milestones. Proper prenatal care, including regular medical checkups and healthy lifestyle choices, is important for a healthy pregnancy. The mother plays a very important role in helping her baby grow and stay healthy. That is why it is important for pregnant women to make choices such as eating a healthy diet, getting enough rest and exercise, and avoiding things that could harm the baby such as alcohol, medications, and other toxic chemicals, referred to as teratogens. These factors can impact normal fetal development and may result in birth defects or other health problems. It is important to avoid exposure to teratogens during pregnancy whenever possible in order to reduce the risk of harm to the developing baby.
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