Make Your Own Lung

We have begun learning about the respiratory system, and to begin with, we made lungs!  This activity demonstrates to the children how the diaphragm functions and helps you breathe.  All you need is:

• 1 plastic bottle (a narrow 2-liter water bottle works best, we found)
• 1 regular-sized red balloon
• 1 larger balloon
• 1 straw
• tape
• scissors

Here is an picture of instructions already made up:

Here is the tray I had made to be available on the shelf:

Here are the balloons and the straw.  My example lung is on the right.

When you pull down on the bottom balloon that represents the diaphragm, the inner balloon (or lung) expands and fills with air.  As you push in your “diaphragm”, the “lung” contracts and the air is pushed out of the straw, or “trachea”. 

The students did a far better job than I did: