| Teaching kids the parts of a chicken egg in the springtime is a great way to explore the science of chickens and eggs. Let’s expand your kids’ knowledge of food, agriculture, and the environment during National Chicken and Agriculture Month. For younger kids, a simple explanation of the parts of an egg can be provided, including the eggshell, the inner and outer membranes, the albumen, and the yolk. For older students, the science can be explained in more detail, such as the role the albumen plays in protecting the embryo, and the significance of the yolk’s nutritional content. As part of the lesson, students can also learn about the egg-laying process and the differences between chicken eggs and other types of eggs. |
Four Reasons Why to Teach Kids the Parts of an Egg
- Vocabulary Expansion – learning the parts of an egg, animal, or plant expands the child’s vocabulary and teaches the proper names. Do you know that the stringy, goopy white things next to the yolk of a broken egg are the chalaza and they are edible and harmless?
- Understanding of Basic Biology – kids begin to see and understand that an egg doesn’t just appear on the grocery shelf or on their plate. By learning the parts of the egg, they are introduced to the form and function of the egg and the biology of the egg’s formation.
- Food Science and Nutrition – kids become more knowledgeable consumers and learn the nutritional value of the egg not only for them but also for the developing chick (if the egg was fertilized and in incubation). They can see how the albumen turns white when cooked. That it is the shell membrane that sometimes sticks to a hard-boiled egg and the air cell makes an indentation at the end of the hard-boiled egg. That you will not find fertilized eggs on the grocery shelf and brown eggs and white eggs are still the same on the inside.
- Curiosity/Observation Skills – kids are curious and love to learn about agriculture, food, and the environment. While studying the parts of the egg, they practice their observation skills by exercising their use of their five (5) senses: sight, smell, taste, listening and feeling.
Start by Teaching the Chicken Lifecycle
Introduce kids to the egg, hen, rooster, and baby chick as the chicken moves through its lifecycle. Kids are able to then begin to see how the egg and chicken relate and how the egg comes to be on their plate. You can use a diagram like the one found in our Introduction to Chickens Lesson Guide.
Egg Part Lesson Supplies
- Raw Egg
- White Plate
- Egg Part Diagram
- Hard-Boiled Egg
Note: Please make sure kids/students know not to touch their faces or mouths while handling eggs. Wash hands thoroughly after handling and clean and disinfect surfaces.
The Outer Egg Anatomy: Shell, Shell Membrane, and Air Cell
Start with the three (3) parts that include or are attached to the shell. Ask your kids to observe the outer shell with their five (5) senses. How does the egg look and feel?
Shell: the hard, protective outer coating that protects the contents of the egg. Made primarily of calcium carbonate. The shell is porous allowing small amounts of air and moisture to move in and out of the egg. Can be shades of brown, white, green, blue, cream, olive, or pink in color. The egg has a large and small end. The inside of the egg shell regardless of the outside shell color is always white.
Shell Membrane: Thin, skin-like layer that lines the inside of the shell. It is the protective barrier (just like human skin) that prevents germs and bacteria from entering the egg contents. It’s the layer that when you peel a hard-boiled egg that seems to always stick to the outside of the hard-boiled egg.
Air Cell: The pocket of air that is captured at the large end of the egg. The fully developed chick uses the air cell to breathe prior to hatching. The air cell causes the end of the hard-boiled egg to be concave or “indented”. The air cell will expand as the egg gets older. An “old” egg floats and a fresh egg will sink to the bottom of a class of water.
The Inner Egg Anatomy: Albumen, Yolk, Chalaza, and Germ Spot
Albumen: The clear, gel-like part of the egg. It is made up of a thick and thin albumen layer. The thick albumen lies closer to the yolk of a cracked egg and the watery, thin albumen lies on the edges. The albumen helps cushion the egg yolk and is the part that turns white when cooked. The albumen is composed of approximately 85% water, 11% protein, and other carbohydrates and nutrients.
Yolk: The sunny yellow part of the egg that provides the nutrients needed for baby chick development. It is also considered the most nutritious part of the egg for humans. It is the oocyte that is released in the oviduct of the hen and is formed inside the egg as it moves down the oviduct of the hen.
Germinal Disc (or Spot): A tiny, white spot (1.5-3.0 mm) on the surface of the egg yolk. (About the size of the pointy end of a pencil) that contains a single layer of cells that if fertilized will develop into the baby chick. How do you tell if an egg is fertilized? If there is a rooster in the hen’s life, the disc will appear slightly larger and have a circle around it like a bulls-eye on a target. No worries, the eggs you buy in the store are not fertilized! Even if it were, the egg is harvested before the egg has had an opportunity to start developing.
Chalaza: (pronounced kə-ˈlā-zə) is the stringy structure that extends from each end of the egg to the yolk that helps anchor the yolk in the center of the egg to help prevent the yolk from breaking. The stringy weird goo that lays beside the yolk when you break opens an egg onto a plate or into a bowl. It’s ok it’s just chalaza!
Want More Egg Facts and Chicken Activities?
Introduction to Chickens Printable Lesson Guide
WHAT THEY’LL LEARN…
- External Chicken Anatomy
- Chicken Lifecycle
- Parts of the Egg
- Egg Formation Story
- Basic Chicken Terminology
- Learn about 14 Common Chicken Breeds
- World Breed Origins
- Chicken Combs
Successful Chick Incubation Guide
This is a beginner guide to small-scale chick incubation at home or in the classroom.
