Dissecting Owl Pellets: What Tools and Accessories Do You Need? January 18 2017
You may be eager to have your class begin dissecting owl pellets, but you need to make sure that you have all the right dissection supplies first. Find out what dissection kit tools and accessories you’ll need before you get started.
Safety Gear
Even if you are dissecting sterilized owl pellets, they should be handled as if they are contaminated with bacteria or viruses. Aside from taking safety precautions like washing their hands, your students should also make sure to wear protective dissection supplies like disposable poly gloves and lab safety goggles.
Tools and Containers
Rather than handling the pellets and possibly breaking some of the bones and other things they’ll find in them, your students should use dissection kit tools like probes to dig through them and tweezers or forceps to pick things up. After you’ve found fur, bones, feathers, and other things, they can be stored in sealed containers.
Microscopes
Looking for a new twist on an old experiment? After dissecting the owl pellets and removing the undigested materials, you can enhance the experience by having your students examine their findings under a microscope.
Identification Kits
While animal remains may be easy for your students to spot and identify, they may have a harder time finding and identifying things like seeds, leaves, and crops. We suggest starting with our leaf identification kit for your first experiment. You can also help your students by providing them with cards or cheat sheets that help them see these types of things hiding in the pellets.
Dissection Kits
Looking for an all-in-one package that can meet all your students’ needs? Look for owl pellet investigation labs and dissection kits that include the tools, worksheets and accessories you want.
Genesis, Inc. has been providing science educators with all their owl pellet dissection needs for the last 25 years. Contact us to find out what accessories can enhance your student’s science experience.