Skeletons are often seen as creepy or scary, but bones are one of the most important parts of our body.  Without a skeleton we would be a puddle of skin (gross!) unable to move or breath, and our organs and blood vessels would be squeezed and unable to function.  Our bones provide support for our muscles and skin and they protect our organs. 

This it a diagram of our skeletal system

Fun Facts

The smallest bones are in the ear. 

Although your bones stop growing when you are around 20

 they do constantly rebuild new bone cells. 

The spine is made up of 33 bones.

Red bone marrow can produce around 5 billion red blood cells each day. 

Very few man made substances can come close to the lightness and strength of bones. 

If your body doesn't have enough calcium, it will take it from your milk!

All the bones in the human body together are called the skeletal system. The skeletal system provides strength and rigidity to our body so we don't just flop around like jellyfish. We have 206 bones in our body. Each bone has a function. Some bones offer protection to softer more fragile parts of body. For example, the skull protects the brain and the rib cage protects our heart and lungs. Other bones, like bones in our legs and arms, help us to move around by providing support for our muscles. 

Skeletal System

The skeletal system includes more than just bones. It also includes tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Tendons attach our bones to muscles so we can move around. Ligaments attach bones to other bones.

 There are two types of bone marrow, yellow and red. Yellow bone marrow is mostly fat cells. Red marrow is important because this is where our body produces red and white blood cells. When we are born, all of our bones have red marrow. By the time we are adults about half of our bones have red marrow.

Bone Marrow

Joints

Our bones come together and connect at special places called joints. Your knees and elbows are joints, for example. Many joints have a large range of movement and are called ball and socket joints. The shoulder and hip are ball and socket joints. Joints have a smooth, durable material called cartilage. Cartilage, together with fluid, allows bones to rub against each other smoothly and not wear out