5-year-old Kiara asked a great question: How is urine made? Let’s find out!
Our bodies have special organs called kidneys, and most people have two of them. The main job of the kidneys is to clean our blood. Blood is very important because it carries things like oxygen all around our bodies. But sometimes, it also has things we don’t need, like extra water and waste.
When blood enters the kidneys, it goes through tiny filters. These filters are so small that you would need a microscope to see them! They work hard to trap the extra water and waste. After this, the clean blood leaves the kidneys and goes back into the body to keep doing its important work.
The waste that the filters catch is turned into urine. This urine is then sent to the bladder, where it is stored until it’s time to go to the bathroom.
So, in simple terms, urine is how our bodies get rid of things we don’t need, thanks to the amazing work of our kidneys!
Kidney Model Craft: Create a simple model of a kidney using clay or playdough. Shape the clay into a bean-like structure to represent the kidney. Use small beads or seeds to represent the tiny filters inside the kidney. As you build your model, talk about how these filters help clean the blood by removing waste and extra water.
Water and Waste Experiment: Fill a clear jar with water and add a few drops of food coloring to represent waste. Use a coffee filter or a piece of cloth to filter the colored water into another jar. Watch how the filter catches the color, similar to how kidneys filter waste from the blood. Discuss how the clear water that passes through is like the clean blood that goes back into our bodies.
Observation and Discussion: Next time you drink a glass of water, think about how your body will use it. Discuss with a friend or family member how the kidneys will help turn some of that water into urine. Why is it important for our bodies to get rid of extra water and waste?
