Dissection?

[MrsWobbleTheWaitress]

My 7 and 5yos want to dissect something, or see something being dissected (inspired by the C4 prog).

I have no idea where to start! Can anyone help?

we started at school with dead rats. Where they got them from, I don't know.

We were a squeamish group of girls and no one watned to touch the rat. We had to lie it on its back and pin down the legs. Then since no one else was going to do it, I cut it open (bottom neck down the front). However it was not firmly pinned enough.

A dead rat flying up into your face is not something you easilyforget. The less squeamish were throwing bits of rat about

tbh I wouldn't rush to do it.

youtube?

Then it was a sheep's heart.

You could get an eyeball from the butchers maybe? Not too squeam inducing and easy to see the parts.

loafds of organs from the butchers. hearts are particularly good - go for pig ones which are just like human ones. the tendon bits that hold open the valves are particularly exciting. and inject the coronary arteries too - to demonstrate heart attackes..

OMG eyeball from the butcher lol

I don't know, what were they dissecting on that programme then?

We haven't done it because my girls have been too squeamish but friends of ours have and were talking about it just the other day.

They went to their local butchers who let them have a lamb heart for nothing. I think at the very least, butchers will let you have offal really cheap. I've heard of people doing eyeballs, hearts, kidneys etc. The only thing I'm not sure how you would do is a whole animal (though our cat presents us with plenty of dead mice!).

Just look up on the internet "labelled kidney" or similar - google images and you will find all the info you need. My DD1 has just done biology IGCSE but we did it all from books and diagrams as she wouldn't dissect! But any biology book would also tell you what you need to know. There was an excellent chapter in DD's book about dissecting a sheep's eyeball - but I reckon you could get this "how to" information on the internet pretty easily.

So, trip to the butcher tomorrow?

I've just gone right off me dinner

I foresee a visit to a butchers' soon!

Someone else suggested getting a small ungutted shark from a fishmongers.

Does anyone have any idea how one can get to see a dissection taking place? This is my first big challenge of home educating vs. school! No biology teachers trained in dissection and an ever-so-slightly squeamish Mummy!

well I wimped out but at school/college we dissected hearts (lamb I think) - in a way it's quite a simple structure and it's a great way to learn about it as you can really see the atria/ventricles/valves etc.

Of course, you may already have all the necessary equipment, but once you've selected your organ of choice , if you've got a good craft shop locally they'll have scalpel blades and holders - usually used for precise cutting of paper etc for craft work.

I can't remember what dissections I did in biology - that was a very long time ago. I've just started an OU course on Elements of Forensic Science but I haven't looked far enough ahead to see if dissections are covered.

I read the Home-Ed area because I'm home-edding me - and I can pick up some interesting ideas. I'd be sending my DH to the butchers, however.

There are dissection videos via google: "dissection videos" brings up a list.

Thanks, huggly. Found a good dissection kit (scalpels etc.) online for £15 so will probably get that.

Oh - you can prob get an ungutted sardine in sainsburys for about 30p!

Sounds good!

'we started at school with dead rats. Where they got them from, I don't know.'

You can get rats and chicks from any petstore that supplies the large reptile market. You have to defrost them though.

Ok, am going to start with a fish from the fish mongers. Ordering a dissection kit today. Then will see what they want to dissect next.

at the idea of defrosting a rat!

MrsW are you going to draw diagrams?

[eyes up dogs]

my MIL dissected a mouse for my kids a few weeks back (FIL had caught it in the veg garden and she froze it because it wasn't too damaged).

My 3 are 7 and 8, and were mostly fascinated. She uses a pair of sharp scissors (eg embroidery or nail scissors), some tweezers and a razor blade to do it. They can all be easily sterilised in hot water afterwards.

She was great at explaining it (had spent years as a biology lab technician).

I have just discovered a home ed friend of ours is a secondary school biology teacher! She's offered to dissect something for the girls

aah does that get you out of it then?

if our DCs ever want to dissect something I reaaaally want to try and do it too. Hopefully I'd be ok with it as I got over my squeamishness enough to cut up meat for dinner - never used to do that!

Or I may just run away and hide in a different room!

DH used to be a chef and enjoys telling me how he chased all the girls on his catering course out of the kitchen by using a fish head as a finger puppet!

Nice!