The human heart is a muscle located a little to the left of the middle of your chest. This muscle, about the size of your fist, is the key component of your cardiovascular system because it circulates blood throughout your body. Working together with your body’s other main organ systems, the heart delivers oxygen and nutrients to your body while carrying away waste in your blood.

The heart works as two pumps in one. The right side of your heart receives blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs to be oxygenated. The left side of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body. Blood only flows through the heart in one direction, so the heart’s valves are critical for ensuring this one-way blood flow.

In this activity, your task is to create a working model of the human heart.

Can you think of some ways to keep your heart healthy?