Dozens of parents, students and teachers streamed through the library at Eshleman Elementary School on Nov. 16 to participate in a "Cellebration" of what students have learned this year about cells.

Using Styrofoam, shoe boxes, Legos, clay, pipe cleaners and other materials, the students created elaborate three-dimensional models showing the parts of a cell, including the nucleus, cell wall and membrane, Golgi bodies, chloroplasts and mitochondria. As parents, teachers and other students walked by, participants explained what each of the parts does and how they built their models.

The "Cellebration" is a culmination of a unit that introduces students to cells as the basic building blocks of life. Students learn the organelle names, locations and functions and look at cell samples through microscopes.

Using English language arts skills, they write similes about cells and compare plant and animal cells. After teachers explain the project, show samples of previous models and discuss possible building materials, students work on their models at home over several weeks.

Fifth-grade teachers Mindy Swope and Aliza Becker teach the cell unit at Eshleman.