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GrumpyGhostOwl
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I am an Owl.
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Here in the merry old land of Oz, National Science Week is almost upon us. (It starts tomorrow.) All across the land, the country's biggest festival will run for a week with events for all ages encouraging community interest in science.
My wildlife group will be running two free activities for kids (one in Perth and one in Margaret River) to learn about raptors in the environment and dissect some owl pellets - then they'll see if they can reassemble an entire mouse skeleton from what they find. Gross but fascinating! (I'm going to have thirty homeschoolers and their families to supervise - what fun.)
I had a WTF moment when one parent asked if the activity was suitable for her 4-year-old. Um, hello? Dissection activity? Lasting two hours? Pointy things? Hygiene ? Science? The answer I wanted to give was, "Not if they inherited their brains from you, sweetheart," but instead I said something along the lines of a two-hour science-based activity with pointy instruments and strict hygiene protocols probably being not suitable for children under 8. I was very polite. Outwardly.
Which led me to wonder if the Doctors Nambu, Anderson, Keane and Brighthead feel like this all the time?
Because, you know, they're usually the smartest* person in the room, and canonically, Anderson at least has shown flashes of sarcasm at times.
The team mentors are probably the last people you'd want to have running Science Week activities, though. Can you imagine what they'd do?
"Hey, kids! Line up for free rides in Dr Nambu's centrifuge!"
"Red Mist** And You - learn how to tell when NOT to go swimming."
"Radiation studies - meet our glow-in-the-dark Science Ninjas!"
"Androids From Planet Spectra - build your own Goon! (Batteries not included.)"
"Explore the ISO's new Duck and Cover app! Available for Android and iOS!"
"Ask Sosai X: the latest in big-screen interactive entertainment."
EDIT: Almost forgot! For our Aussie Gatchamaniacs, if you'd like to find a National Science Week event near you, visit the website at https://www.scienceweek.net.au/. Many of the events are free. I don't think there are any giant centrifuges, though.
* Also the most bat-shit crazy person in the room.
** Island of Fear (BotP) 'Red Mist' was described by Zoltar as "their dangerous disintegrator." Just the thing you want floating around in a coral atoll ecosystem.
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This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by GrumpyGhostOwl on 11-08-2017 at 02:23.
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11-08-2017 02:19
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GrumpyGhostOwl
Master Boardie
I am an Owl.
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Registration Date: 04-12-2016
Posts: 705
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quote: | Originally posted by Ebonyswanne
quote: | Originally posted by Daniella T
Aaaah this post brings back so many memories! Until I went to Australia as an exchange student I had never had a biology lesson where things got dissected (no labs at the time in most Greek schools), so my first experience with pointy things was in Sydney... Interesting, no doubt -- but I didn't miss it when I got back to our books-only education |
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That brings back memories of frozen mice in science... shudders...I remember trying not vomit all through class. (I wasn't good with somethings.) I would throw up if something smelled odd, looked gross or couldn't handle it all through my childhood. No one could explain it, turns out I have heightened sensory.
Still happens occasionally. But blood is fine, can handle it, even donate it.
Stopped me from going into nursing which I considered in my teens. |
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You might not have enjoyed today's owl pellet dissection, then. Each pair of children was given two steam-sterilised owl pellets, which we then soaked in a little bowl of water with some Dettol added (in case any germs had survived the autoclaving process) then we sieved the contents and the kids were challenged to rebuild a mouse skeleton on the laminated template provided. I think the phrase I repeated most today was, "Okay, who's ready to get gross?" as we sieved and dumped little lumps of regurgitated undigested hair, bone, teeth and claws onto the workmats to be picked over with forceps and probes. I think the parents had as much fun as the kids, especially when everyone had found a skull and was asked to pick it up and examine the teeth through their magnifying glasses. (Cue a chorus of, "Eeeeeewwwww... Cool!")
One of the kids wanted to bring his mouse bones home. His mother was okay with it so I let him have one of the plastic templates and suggested he use some PVA glue to stick the bones in place and make a display project out of it. Possibly a scientist in the making
The Swallows would have loved it.
And after a day of doing science to things, I'm wiped.
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18-08-2017 10:39
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