Owl Pellet Dissection

Materials:

• Heat treated owl pellets wrapped in foil for every pair of students
• wood sticks to punch through the pellet and dissect

Owls eat their food whole like other birds who do not have teeth to chew it. They are able to accomplish this task through the use of their strong beaks to rip their prey apart and swallow it whole. The owls digestive system is able to separate the meat (soft matter) from the bones (the hard matter), and it regurgitates the indigestible matter (fur, feathers, and bones in the form of a pellet). (shown below)

Purpose: to understand how an owl's digestive system cannot break down another critters bones and therefore regurgitates them in a form of a pellet from its mouth. (heat treated for the sake of eliminating bacteria for students to dissect and use as an educational tool). This activity incorporates working with other students, and items in tangible form rather than simply reading about them. I cannot stress it enough how important it is to allow students to experience science and learning in general first-hand through their own experiences with it. This was the first time I had done this, and I know it will forever be engrained in my mind how and owl eats, and what it can and cannot digest. I want to be the teacher that thought outside the box and brought something that students could take with them forever relevant to academics and their involvement with it.

Addresses TPE: (4=Making Content Accessible; 5=Student Engagement; 6=developmentally appropriate teaching practices; 2=Monitoring student learning during instruction; 3=interpretation and use of assessments)