The Digestive System
Lab Activity for Life Skills
The Digestive System
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Let’s Review with this video.
Lab Instructions
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For this lab, we are going to use
different objects to represent
different parts of the digestive
system.
Please read over your directions
now.
The Supplies
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Cracker = Food
Banana = enzymes in saliva
Water = Saliva
Bag = Stomach
Stocking = Small Intestine
Cup = Large Intestine
The Activity
1.
Crumble up your cracker.
This is like chewing. Teeth are
the first part of the digestive
system.
2. Put the cracker into the ziplock bag.
- We will skip over the esophagus and go
straight from the mouth to the stomach.
-What does the esophagus do?
3. Put half of a banana into the bag.
-This is like the enzymes that help break
down the food.
4. Pour a small amount of water into the
bag.
-This is like the saliva from your mouth.
5. Squeeze out all the air and close the bag
tightly.
-Make sure it is completely closed.
-If you leave air in there, it will be like
what happens when you have gas.
6. Smush the cracker, banana and water
together for a few minutes.
-This is like the churning that the stomach
does.
7. Put your bag aside and put newspaper
down on your desk.
8. Get your stocking ready.
9. After your food is churned up, cut a very
small hole in the bottom corner of the
bag.
-You will need help for this!
10. Pour the food from the stomach (bag)
into the small intestine (stocking).
11. Watch as all the water from your food
goes through the wall of the small
intestine.
-This water will now go to the rest of
your body where it is needed.
12. When it is fully drained, get help poking
a small hole in the bottom of your cup.
13. Get help cutting a small hole in the
bottom of your stocking.
14. Squeeze the food from the small
intestine (stocking) into the large
intestine (cup).
15. Hold the cup over a trash can.
-The last bit of water will come
dripping out.
-The waste products—the parts of the
food your body can’t use, will get packed
together.
16. Pretend the trash can is the toilet
and dump the waste products in,
representing the end of the
digestion process.
17. Now clean up.