Plant Cell

About this simulation

This model shows a box-shaped plant cell with everything an animal cell has plus a cellulose cell wall, a large central vacuole and chloroplasts. Students choose an organelle from a menu to highlight it and read its job. The Compare with animal cell toggle lights up the three structures animal cells lack, and the Cytoplasmic streaming slider carries chloroplasts around the vacuole. Teachers can use it to contrast plant and animal cells, link chloroplasts to photosynthesis, and explain why plants stay upright.

What students can explore

Turn on Compare with animal cell and name the three structures that light up.
Select Large vacuole and read in the Job readout why it matters for the cell.
Select Chloroplasts and link them to photosynthesis in the Job readout.
Raise Cytoplasmic streaming and watch chloroplasts circulate around the vacuole.
Switch Cutaway off to see the cell wall from the outside.

Learning objectives

1Identify the cell wall, large vacuole and chloroplasts as features of plant cells.
2Compare plant and animal cells and list three structural differences.
3Explain how the vacuole and cell wall help support a plant.
4Describe the role of chloroplasts in making sugar from light.

Questions teachers ask

Can I use this plant cell simulation for free?

Yes. It is free, runs in any modern browser on computers, tablets and interactive whiteboards, and needs no sign-up or download.

What is different about a plant cell?

A plant cell has a rigid cellulose wall, a large central vacuole that can take up to 90 percent of the volume, and chloroplasts that make sugar. Animal cells have none of these three.

How do I compare it with an animal cell?

Switch on the Compare with animal cell toggle. The three structures animal cells lack are lit up, and the Vs animal cell readout explains the one you have selected.

Are the sizes in the model accurate?

No. The cell wall thickness and organelle sizes are exaggerated so they are easy to see. Real plant cells are typically 10 to 100 micrometers across and packed side by side.

Embed this simulation

Drop it into your LMS, blog, or class site — free.

<iframe src="https://kiwibee.io/en/simulations/plant-cell-3d-simulation/embed" title="Plant Cell | KiwiBee" loading="lazy" allowfullscreen style="width:100%;height:min(70vh,620px);min-height:420px;border:0;border-radius:16px"></iframe>

Continue exploring

Interactive diagram of a plant cell and its organelles.

—

Preview of Plant, Animal and Bacterial Cell Comparison

Compare three cell diagrams. Select structures, inspect their functions and compare illustrative sizes.

—

Place a 3D biconcave red blood cell and a walled plant cell side by side in solution. Adjust extracellular solute molarity to watch water cross aquaporin channels and compare haemolysis, crenation, turgor pressure, and plasmolysis.

—

Explore an adult male reference body in 3D. Reveal 14 anatomical systems, search thousands of named structures, isolate organs, and pull 2,209 modeled pieces apart to see how the body is organized.

—

Explore the head and neck in 3D: 643 source meshes across 14 layers, 47 facial and masticatory muscles, and 77 drawn nerves, vessels and glands the source scan omits. Open any tooth onto its own pulp canal, and follow the seven stages of tooth development.

—

From model to evidence

Use a worksheet to capture predictions, observations, and explanations after students explore.

Pack