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Secondary education

Calling biology teachers - dissection

9 replies

MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 13/06/2010 20:39

My home educated 7 and 5yo want to see something being dissected after watching that C4 prog. Do they still do dissection in school?

If so, how likely do you think it would be that if I were to contact a local secondary school, that a kindly biology teacher might agree to dissect something with them? Would you if you were asked?

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MmeRedWhiteandBlueberry · 14/06/2010 04:31

Yes dissection is still done in schools.

I am sure that you could find a teacher willing to demonstrate dissection. The going rate for private tuition is in the region of £30 per hour, plus the cost of the materials.

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MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 14/06/2010 07:49

How would you do that? Approach a school? Or google private biology tutors?

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belgo · 14/06/2010 07:53

If they want to dissect a fish you can ask a fish mongers for a whole (non-gutted) fish.

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madrose · 14/06/2010 07:54

you can easily gain some 'parts' yourself. Speak to your local butcher - see if they have any hearts and/or lungs, eyeballs, kidneys - they're fun to dissect at home, let the kids have messy fun.

Enjoy

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Goblinchild · 14/06/2010 07:55

At 7 and 5, I'd just buy a (dead) fish, bird or a rabbit and have a go with them.
My son has dissected hearts and eyes at school, Y10.
You can buy scalpels from craft shops.

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belgo · 14/06/2010 07:57

pig hearts are great to dissect, approx. the same size as a human heart.

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Goblinchild · 14/06/2010 08:00

There's even a novel about it, Pig-Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman.
Creative curriculum, literacy, science, IT and art all in one gooey squishy heap.

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Cathpot · 14/06/2010 08:03

By all means get bits and pieces from the butcher but there is an advantage to having someone who knows what they are looking at to sort of guide you round, there is a knack to something like an eye dissection otherwise you can end up with mush. Similarly cut a heart through a different plane from the ones in the books and it will be very tricky to relate what you are looking at to any information text (although perhaps I am thinking with a secondary head on rather than for 5 and 7 year olds- depends what you want to get out of it really) If you cant get hold of a live biology teacher maybe there are clips on the internet??

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MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 14/06/2010 12:38

It's knowing what I'm doing that's the thing!

I have just discovered a HE friend is a secondary school biology teacher! So she's going to come over and dissect some things for us