Bone Collectors

​We have come to appreciation Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (veterans, by the way) for all that they achieved on their Corps of Discovery expedition.  One task at which they excelled was chronicling their scientific discoveries.  Lewis and Clark took extensive notes about the flora and fauna of the West.

Yesterday, we devoted some time to exploration and discovery of our own.  I introduced the class to owl pellets.  We began by learning about owls (and other birds) and their digestive tracts.  This information is presented in a colorful way in the Owl Pellet Essentials Guide, but not ever as colorfully as the actual hands-on dissection that followed.  Each group was provided an extra large pellet to explore, along with some extra scientific observation tools which included a bone identification sheet, toothpicks, and a magnifying glass.

This class didn't have any apprehension at all.
​Students quickly dug into the materials and recorded their experience along the way.