We are going to talk about Owl Pellets:
When I was in the 6th grade we dissected these puppies in my class. 6th grade was a long time ago, so it was obviously pretty cool if I can still remember it! I can't even remember my 6th grade teachers name. We called her Ms. B because her last name was really hard to pronounce and now I can't remember what the B stood for. And I liked her. I liked her a lot. Like cut my hair really short and get it permed to look like her, like her! So the fact that I can't remember her name and I CAN remember the owl pellets really tells you something.
If you don't know what an owl pellet is, it is a little gross, so be warned. Owls have a CRAZY digestive system. They eat rodents and then store all of the indigestible parts and then regurgitate it up in pellet form. So basically it is a a pellet of hair and bones. I know it sounds gross, but if you are a boy or a girl that is in to science these things are pretty cool. You tear them apart and try to put together animal skeletons. It is like the next best thing to being an archaeologist.
Spring break (or summer break for that matter) is right around the corner. So if you are looking for something interesting (and educational) to do over break, or just on a Saturday, you can get a set of 3 for $10 at Nature's Workshop.
And if you do order one and want to teach your kid about owl digestion, there is a great source here.
Order one! You know you want to! I wish I would have thought of these before Christmas! What a fun stocking stuffer!!
21 comments:
That sounds really neat. I would love something like that. It would kind of be like doing an autopsy. At one time I wanted to be a Pathologist. :o)
That's actually something my 12dd would love, probably even my 5dd. lol
Ah, memories! You just brought me back to Schwerdfeger's class... Good times, good times.
That is really gross and intriguing at the same time, lol.
Wondering if S, would like it.
Lbug! He would! And it is a little gross, but it doesn't smell or anything, so it isn't too bad.
Ahhh! Schwerdfeger's class! Dissecting Fetal Pigs with Jordan Jacob's! **swoon**
This looks so familiar.
Totally did that in 6th grade too! Oh the memories... can't get enough owl dung.
I totally remember dissecting owl pellets. We did it in the 4th grade. My teacher was Mrs. Hosch. She's really the only teacher I remember. She got me interested in science by doing things like this!
Um. That's gross. You're weird. But I still like you.
My almost 10 year old son was standing here as I read your post.
He thinks that owl pellets are cool. Am I surprised? No.
My kids LOVED it when we did that for our homeschool science unit. You can even get a chart that will tell you which bones came from which animal. It was my first introdution to voles!
I remember doing this in my science class right after we made christmas center pieces...it was so fun & gross too but mainly fun.
I hate to say it, but I loved doing this in school. In a few years I think my boys would really get a kick out of it.
All we cut open in 7th and 8th grade were frogs and fish. Since I know nothing about owl pellets, I looked at the picture and thought it was something you threw at the owls to get them off your house - oooh, I'm such a nature girl - LOL!
After finding the Mud Dauber Wasp nest, packed with dead spiders, under one of my tables, I MIGHT be able to handle this...are the pellets real or simulated??? That might help me some...home school ain't for the timid, so I better charge on full-force! Thanks for the cool feature!!
Haha! I forgot all about the owl pellets. We also dissected them in 6th grade and glued the bones to a piece of paper to make a rodent. Good times! My son would LOVE these...I'll tuck the idea away for a future stocking stuffer idea.
Oh my gosh! I totally forgot about these!
One word - EEEEWWWWW!
:P
Kim, they are the real deal. Owls have to choke them up every time they eat, so they are not hard to come by!
That is a very interesting idea... Thanks for the information!
Jen
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