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Dissection has been part of most biology and zoology classes as long as anyone can remember.
But this year, Ryan Combs’ advanced zoology class at Neosho High School tried a new approach.
“When you dissect an animal, all you have left is parts. I wanted to do the opposite and give the students a jigsaw project instead. Then, they even have something they can take home,” Combs said.
The jigsaw project was called for students were to reconstruct the bones of an animal.
The project actually began last year when Combs suggested to some of the students what he had in mind for the 2010-2011 school year. He instructed them to begin finding specimens for this school year.
Junior Chet Hall took the assignment to heart. “I thought that if we’re doing something, let’s do something cool—something big,” he said.
He decided to reconstruct a buffalo (American bison). But first he had to acquire one, and he thought he knew who could help him. He called his grandmother, Rebecca Hall.
She then contacted her friend Carol Klein, who runs Oakcreek Buffalo Ranch, at Jane. Sure enough, last winter, Klein lost a 2-year-old calf, and its body was given to Chet for his zoology project.
Chet said the buffalo came whole, with meat, hide, and hair still attached. He and his dad cooked the meat off the bones in a 55-gallon drum one cold winter day.
“There was snow on the ground,” he explained.
After the bones were dried, they were sorted, and the assembly began. Chet did not work alone on this project. He was assisted by Natalie Estrada, Kenneth Price, and Courtney Wood.
The group soon discovered that Liquid Nails, which they thought would make attaching parts easy, did not have enough bond to keep the bones together. So they resorted to hot glue in order to stick the skeleton together.
The procedure took more time than expected, but they were able to compete the task before school adjourned for the summer. The skeletons will be on display for a year, then they can be claimed by the students.
Other members of the class assembled the skeletons of a Canadian goose, bobcat, house cat, coyote, red fox, possum, and raccoon. They also attempted to reconstruct a fish, but could never find a glue which would stick to the fish bones.
The first fish skeleton for assembly fell on hard times, when its owner left it in his room at home and went to work. The family dog found the fish bones and ate them.
Ryan Combs said that he was pleased with the assembly project for his upper level zoology students. He is anxious to see if next year’s class can top this year’s projects.
Dissection has been part of most biology and zoology classes as long as anyone can remember.
But this year, Ryan Combs’ advanced zoology class at Neosho High School tried a new approach.
“When you dissect an animal, all you have left is parts. I wanted to do the opposite and give the students a jigsaw project instead. Then, they even have something they can take home,” Combs said.
The jigsaw project was called for students were to reconstruct the bones of an animal.
The project actually began last year when Combs suggested to some of the students what he had in mind for the 2010-2011 school year. He instructed them to begin finding specimens for this school year.
Junior Chet Hall took the assignment to heart. “I thought that if we’re doing something, let’s do something cool—something big,” he said.
He decided to reconstruct a buffalo (American bison). But first he had to acquire one, and he thought he knew who could help him. He called his grandmother, Rebecca Hall.
She then contacted her friend Carol Klein, who runs Oakcreek Buffalo Ranch, at Jane. Sure enough, last winter, Klein lost a 2-year-old calf, and its body was given to Chet for his zoology project.
Chet said the buffalo came whole, with meat, hide, and hair still attached. He and his dad cooked the meat off the bones in a 55-gallon drum one cold winter day.
“There was snow on the ground,” he explained.
After the bones were dried, they were sorted, and the assembly began. Chet did not work alone on this project. He was assisted by Natalie Estrada, Kenneth Price, and Courtney Wood.
The group soon discovered that Liquid Nails, which they thought would make attaching parts easy, did not have enough bond to keep the bones together. So they resorted to hot glue in order to stick the skeleton together.
The procedure took more time than expected, but they were able to compete the task before school adjourned for the summer. The skeletons will be on display for a year, then they can be claimed by the students.
Other members of the class assembled the skeletons of a Canadian goose, bobcat, house cat, coyote, red fox, possum, and raccoon. They also attempted to reconstruct a fish, but could never find a glue which would stick to the fish bones.
The first fish skeleton for assembly fell on hard times, when its owner left it in his room at home and went to work. The family dog found the fish bones and ate them.
Ryan Combs said that he was pleased with the assembly project for his upper level zoology students. He is anxious to see if next year’s class can top this year’s projects.
