4. 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!

5. 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.
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6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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!

9. 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!

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.