Savvy Science

**WARNING** These images are not for the weak of stomach...

I absolutely adore teaching. There is just something about it that fills my days with an element of surprise and delight. One of the subjects I was always shy of was science. In fifth grade (at least in California) the standards are quite rigorous with cells, the body systems, the heart, and lungs, not to mention physical science with all of the atoms, elements and the periodic table. I signed up early when I started teaching to get on any science team that I could. Man have I loved attending conferences, piloting programs and even teaching the others in my district about science.

Some of my favorites have been teaming with the biology department at COC (College of the Canyons) to be on the receiving end of their "treasures". One of those treasures came on a Friday morning as I got a call from a friend there saying, "Would you like a brain?" Well, of course the answer was yes! Within an hour we had a sheep's brain quietly resting in the freezer. We dissected it and I have never been happier.

Next was of course the heart. How can you teach about the heart without looking at a real one? I ordered a (cow's) heart from Bob's Country Meats and asked if they'd leave the aorta in tact. What a thrill it was to actually see how the amazing muscle works. The "ooh"s and "ahh"s were heard all around. I was proud of my little pack, no squirmy stomachs or green faces to be seen. When we cut open the heart we could see so clearly the right and left atrium, the right and left ventricles, valves, and even the thickness of the left ventricle (the kids could see clearly that it was the one doing almost all the work).


What has been truly exciting however, has been the connection with the Ocean Outreach Program that comes to our school and the students team up to dissect a fish (a mackerel to be exact). What fun it is to see their squeamish faces and then to see them bravely handle a knife and scissors. The instructors lead them through all of the areas of the dissection, including opening the stomach, looking for the stomach sack ( a small bubble they pop), the heart (right under the gills) and lastly, surgically removing the lens of the eye. You're right, "Gross!" But something they're not likely to do again and so it is a precious moment.

I think most of this excitement for science must come from my mom. A true teacher at heart, I remember very vividly her bringing home a cow's tongue for us to dissect. It was the best Family Home Evening ever!




















Wherever it began, it's definitely something I never expected to love so much. How can one be so attached to something so gross? It's a teachers' prerogative I guess; to like gross things, all in the name of science.