Lub Dub: Make a Heart Valve

Add to list Go to activity
Learners will construct a model of a heart valve using a film canister, a piece of masking tape, and a piece of paper. They investigate their "valve" by altering it to see what happens and what it sounds like when the "valve" has a hole in it. This activity is a great way for learners to visually understand why the human heart sounds like it does and how valves control blood flow. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 4 - adult
Resource Types:
Activity, Lesson/Lesson Plan, Model
Language:
English

Materials List (per group of students)

  • film canisters with holes in the tops and bottoms
  • straight pin
  • paper
  • masking tape
  • artificial valve for comparison (if possible)
  • drill
  • drill bit
  • small block of wood

Keywords

Subjects

  • Life Sciences
    • Human Body
      • Circulation

Informal Categories

  • Model Building

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • hear
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Components that are part of this resource:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Science Museum of Minnesota, 2000

Funding Source:

  • Medtronic Foundation