Skulls, Fur, and Creative Kid Scientists

Alex and Her Partner Hard at Work

No childhood is complete without dissecting owl pellets at least once.  Do you remember doing this in elementary school? I sure do. I don’t particularly recall if it was in school or in girl scouts, but I remember being simultaneously grossed out and enthralled. When I told the kids that we would be performing this infamous experiment this week at Science Club, they were ecstatic.  Alex was bouncing off the walls this morning with excitement, “I get to dissect fossilized pooooooooop!” I know it’s not technically fossilized waste products, but it does sound a bit more sanitary (and interesting?) that way.  Plus, it’s the learning experience that counts, right?

This was our first Science Club meeting with Jacksonville Homeschool Kids and it was great. The turnout was huge and Alex quickly bonded with several other girls her age.  I prepped Ethan lots this morning so that he knew what to expect and how to act. As you may know, he has a social disorder that makes interacting with others (especially in groups) extremely difficult for him. He didn’t actually talk to or interact with any other children today, but he didn’t throw any tantrums or spend the class crying either. Progress!

Alex paired up with another first-grade girl and Ethan paired up with Derek. I wasn’t actually expecting Ethan to take part, so I was very happy about this. They each got to put on plastic gloves and got a jar, a foil-wrapped owl pellet, and a toothpick to tear it apart.  Alex and her partner got a worksheet to fill out with their observations. They began by writing about what they thought the purpose of the experiment was and what they expected to learn. One question asked, “What do you already know about owl pellets?” Alex’s answer? “It is owl poop” (PS: It’s not poop. It’s technically owl barf that’s been sanitized for science experiments).

We parents filled the jars with water, then our scientists plopped the unwrapped pellets in and swished them around carefully. We helped the children strain them and put the pellet on paper towels for dissection. Alex’s paper asked something like, “What was your reaction after the pellet was strained?” Her answer: “Eeeeew!” It did look pretty gross!

The kids carefully pulled apart the pellet with the toothpick to discover what the owl ate and recorded their findings. Alex found 3 mouse skulls, lots of bones, fur, and grass. Ethan and Derek’s pellet had bones, grass, and lots of mud. This led to some interesting conversations on digestion and how humans and owls eat much different things. I mean, can you imagine eating a mouse fur, bones, and all? Bleah.

The kids all had a blast and learned a lot, especially about sitting still, following instructions, and working cooperatively. I look forward to the day Bella is old enough to participate! Her current stage makes participating in things like this a bit difficult.  We’re lucky to have such an awesome homeschool group here in Jacksonville and are thankful to the home educators who put this program together. Alex is already anxiously awaiting the next Science Club meeting. Who knows what we’ll learn next?

You can order your own owl pellets online for a science experiment, or do a virtual version of the experiment instead. Here’s a great website where kids can do a virtual owl pellet experiment: http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm/.

Ethan unwraps the pellet

Alex and her new friend

Derek swishes his jar to help soften the pellet before dissection

Alexandria the scientist

There was a great turnout for Science Club today!