Eeks and shrieks emanated from the Lower School science lab recently as grade six students dissected owl pellets to unearth tiny bone fragments that further their comprehension of comparative anatomy. 

Since owls don’t have teeth, they swallow their prey whole. What their stomachs can’t digest in the way of bones and fur, they regurgitate as a pellet. As students gently scrape away the fur coating of these pellets, they discover rodent skulls, limbs, jaws, scapulas, ribs, vertebrae, and other bone fragments that look like miniature versions of human anatomy. 

As their meticulous dissections progress, students compare what they extract to an owl pellet bone chart and sorting guide, and then tally what they have found on a chart. They also make qualitative observations about their discoveries, such as color, texture, and odor.

This hands-on (or gloves-on) lab activity is among many tangible connections grade six students have throughout the year as they focus on the enormous wonder of life science.  

At the start of the year, they look at the cell and the building blocks of life. They ponder what it means for something to be alive. Next, they learn about groups of cells and what makes up tissues. As groups of tissues form organs, the next investigations are into organ systems, where they actually become the teachers themselves in an exciting role reversal.

This leads to an investigation of complex organisms and questions about what makes living things look similar or different, and the evolution of traits, which in turn leads to discussions on genetics and inherited traits.

Inherited traits become an entree to understanding the fossil record and how environmental pressures that organisms have faced have caused them to change over time. Students look at natural and artificial selection. This leads to a spotlight on Gregor Mendel, whose pea plant experiments earned him the title ”the father of genetics.” Students read a biography and learn how Mendel was a friar and a man of both science and faith. 

All of this scaffolding in the grade six science curriculum leads to learning about the fossil record and investigating the notion of shared ancestry among species, which is ultimately reinforced in this lab by uncovering the exciting mysteries contained within the owl pellets. 

So that’s how owl vomit can teach us about evolution!