Histology Model - an engineering lab for levels of organization

The new NGSS focusses on student discovery and adding engineering strategies to the science curriculum. When covering cell structures and levels of organization from cells to tissues to organs, etc., I use many pre-assembled slides for students to put a visual exploration to go along with the curriculum. This lesson will teach the students the engineering process of creating those slides. This lesson allows the students to explore the real-world method of preparing slides, using jello and fruit, as well as using a systematic process to determine which approach for creating jello slides best meets established criteria provided by the instructor.