Neuroscience for Kids

The Skull

Your 3 pound (1.4 kg) brain needsa home...your skull!
Your brain isprotected by several bones. There are 8 bones that surround your brain. These 8 bones make up the cranium. Another 14bones in the face make up the entire skull. There are also 3 small bonesin eachear. Also protecting your brain are 3 layers of tissuecalled the meninges. A few of the bones have been colored in thediagram to the right.

There is a largeopening, called the foramen magnum, located in theback of the occipital bone. This is where the medulla ends and projectsout of the skull. Smaller holes in the skull, called foramina, allownerves and blood vessels to enter and leave the cranium. The picture onthe left shows the base of the skull.
The places in the skull where the bones come together are called sutures. These sutures are flexible in young children,but become fixed as you age.

DeLoy Roberts, a science teacher in Idaho Falls, has a nicecollection of animal skulls that he has made available on theInternet. More on theskull from Knowledge Adventure.

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Exploring theNervous System

Your 3 pound (1.4 kg) brain needsa home...your skull!
Your brain isprotected by several bones. There are 8 bones that surround your brain. These 8 bones make up the cranium. Another 14bones in the face make up the entire skull. There are also 3 small bonesin eachear. Also protecting your brain are 3 layers of tissuecalled the meninges. A few of the bones have been colored in thediagram to the right.