Octopus Dissection

"It's now octopus dissection time!" There's a phrase guaranteed to grab the kids' attention! 

On Tuesday, after a discussion on the differences between dissection and mutilation, and the reason we would be treating these animals that had been caught for food with respect at all times, the children got to work.

Each table group was given an octopus and diagrams of the internal anatomy of an octopus. (Photo by Sue Scott.)

MM, EK, JB, and HS (hidden behind JB) dove right in.

SY found the smell a bit much, but AH, FR, EW, AM, and SJ were riveted.

Using the diagrams of the internal anatomy of an octopus, the kids were to try and identify and then dissect out as many internal organs as they could. EP, MCM, NM, PH, TM, and BW.

Now FR is finding the odor a bit much!

KR, LW, LT, GH, and JR are working hard - you can see they have removed some parts from their octopus and set them on a white sheet of paper for identification.

GH, LT, ZH (hidden behind LT), LW, and KR. (Photo by Sue Scott.)

A close up of the kids and the animal. (Photo by Sue Scott.)

MM, JB, HS, and EK asked me to help them clip some tissue. (Photo by Sue Scott.)

ZH, JS, SS, AY, and GCD cut carefully with their scissors. We also used toothpicks to tease tissues apart.

Sue Scott, formerly a news anchor for WLFI and now TSC's publicist, took some shots of our activity for the Hershey web site. She turned them into banners for the Hershey web site.

Although one or two students needed to step out into the hallway for fresh air, the worst problem we had was an eyeball that was dropped on the floor and lost. (We looked, but finding a tiny brown eyeball on a brown carpet is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack!)

The dissection took almost an hour and a half and wrapped up just before lunch. Believe it or not, all the children reported that they'd eaten lunch as usual!