Exploring Anatomy: Sensory Organs Objective: To compare the anatomy of a sheep or cow eye with that of a human being Bell work: What are some ways other animal eyes differ from the eyes of human beings? Some examples may be night vision, eye position (side or top of the head versus on the front), iris shape, number of muscles present, etc. Why are the eyes such an important sensory organ to living things? Eyes allow organisms to have visual connection with their environment, allowing them to sense danger, find food, mates, or a suitable habitat. If an organism doesn’t have eyes, what other senses/structures might it use to learn more about its environment? Other senses tend to become heightened in the absence of sight. An organism may use its sense of hearing or smell to perceive its environment. Oh, I see!

Exploring Anatomy: Sensory Organs What You Do: Want to get a hands-on feel for the eye? Let’s construct a three-dimensional eye. This is called a “scienstructable”… a constructable, instructable, tangible science model! First, we’re going to read all about the eye. Then, you’ll complete your table on your worksheet, identifying the structures of the eye we’ll be exploring and the colors we will use to create our scienstructable. Use the information on the following slides to fill in your chart. dirty gerdy smelly mellie gnllc

superior oblique/rectus inferior oblique/rectus lateral/medial rectus Number Organ Color 1 fat tissue Orange 2 superior oblique/rectus Red 3 inferior oblique/rectus 4 lateral/medial rectus 5 sclera White 6 optic nerve Gray 7 cornea Light Blue 8 aqueous humor Light Yellow 9 pupil Black 10 iris Your Choice! 11 lens 12 ciliary muscles 13 vitreous humor 14 retina 15 blind spot 16 rods Dark Gray 17 cones Red, Green, Blue 18 tapetum lucidum Purple 19 choroid layer On your paper, write the name of the structure and color the corresponding box the color indicated. These will be the colors you will color each structure on your eye scienstructable.

Exploring Anatomy: Sensory Organs Creating the Eye Scienstructable What You Do: Once you have completed your key, begin the reading to determine what all of these structures do – many of them have the same function as human beings! Remember to use good reading strategies as you read. On your paper, write the function of each structure in the appropriate column. For example: Number Organ Color Function 1 fat tissue Orange Protects and cushions the the eye 2 superior oblique/rectus Red Extrinsic muscles that move the eye up

Check your work! # Organ Function 1 fat tissue Protects and cushions the the eye 2 superior oblique/rectus Extrinsic muscles that move the eye up 3 inferior oblique/rectus Extrinsic muscles that move the eye down 4 lateral/medial rectus Extrinsic muscles that move the eye left and right 5 sclera Tough outer covering that gives the eye it’s shape 6 optic nerve Transmits images received by the retina to the brain 7 cornea Curved; works with lens to focus images on retina; protects the iris 8 aqueous humor Fluid that helps to retain the shape of the cornea 9 pupil Hole in the iris that controls the amount of light that enters the eye 10 iris Colored part of the eye; dilates/constricts to allow light into the eye 11 lens Hard, pearl-like structure; changes shape to focus images on retina 12 ciliary muscles Attached to lens; change shape of lens to help focus images 13 vitreous humor Fluid in the main chamber of the eye; maintains shape of the eye 14 retina Receives light from environment; translates into nerve impulses 15 blind spot Lacks sight receptors; site where optic nerve attaches to eye 16 rods Perceive light impulses in dim light 17 cones Perceive colors; Long (red), medium (green) and short (blue) 18 tapetum lucidum Reflects light onto retina in low levels of light; night vision 19 choroid layer Houses blood vessels that supply the eye with nutrients and oxygen Check your work!

Exploring Anatomy: Sensory Organs What You’ll need to create your scienstructable: Colored eye template Scissors Colored pencils Small amount of glue or a glue stick Construction paper What You Do: Now it’s time to color your eye! Color the structures according to your key. You can color the IRIS of your eye ANY color!

Exploring Anatomy: Sensory Organs Assembling the eye Scienstructable What You Do: CAREFULLY cut out your eye and structures - no jagged edges! DO NOT cut off the tabs as you will use these to assemble your eye. Glue your Scienstructable Key and Function sheet to one side of your construction paper, placing glue on the back of your paper. On the other side of your construction paper, paste down your cut-out eye base. This will provide the foundation upon which you will build your scienstructable.

Exploring Anatomy: Sensory Organs Assembling the eye Scienstructable What You Do: *All numbers on your finished model will be upright when pasted down, so please be sure to pay attention to how you glue your model together.* For all structures to be pasted down, you will apply glue to each tab and match up the lettered tabs as follows: Attach the LENS by tabs A1 to A1 on the eye body. If attached properly, it should be slightly lifted off of the paper. Attach the IRIS by tabs A2 on top of the LENS A1 on the eye body.

Exploring Anatomy: Sensory Organs Assembling the eye Scienstructable What You Do: Attach the MAGNIFIED RODS AND CONES by tab B1 to B1 on the eye body. Attach the RETINA by tab B2 on top of the MAGNIFIED RODS AND CONES B1 on the eye body. Attach the SCLERA by tab B3 to RETINA B2 on the eye body. Attach the FAT TISSUE by its tab OVER tab B3 on the eye body. Apply glue where it says ”Place glue here and fold under”. Fold the tab under and place on top of B3.

Here’s what is should look like when you’re all done! Now you have a great tool to help you prepare for your eye exploration.