Becoming Scientist-Surgeons: Owl Pellet Dissection

Science should be as relevant and hands-on as possible.


I think that most teachers and students would agree wholeheartedly with that statement.



So, what do you do when your science curriculum focuses on the study of nocturnal animals for a hearty and intensive 5 weeks?



You get adventurous, that's what.

Did you know that there are over 200 different types of owls in the world?  These owls inhabit every continent with the exception of Antarctica.  They make their homes in trees, burrows, even airport runways.  Owls have hairlike feathers around their faces that serve as "feelers", much like a cat's whiskers.  A snowy owl can hear a mouse under 18 inches of snow.  A barn owl can hear a mouse scurrying at 90 feet away.

Amazing owl facts aside, we wanted our hands-on science.  And we got it, in the form of tiny, icky (yet totally sterilized) owl pellets.

We learned that owls do not chew their food; they often swallow small prey whole.  Due to their peculiar eating habits, they must do something equally peculiar:  they must regurgitate bones.

An owl's gizzard acts as a mighty churning machine.  The gizzard works to form the pellet of indigestible materials.  In order to grab another meal, an owl must first cough up the old pellet.

We dissected barn owl pellets in brave teams.  We utilized tweezers and pipettes in order to glean what sort of bones were inside.  Our surgery styles were varied and impressive!  We organized the bones using provided charts as we tried to figure out what types of small mammals that our owls must have eaten.

Some fears had to be addressed and overcome.  Within minutes of beginning surgery, we had a bunch of fascinated scientists on our hands.  Icky stuff, yes.   But high quality, high interested learning, too!