In 5th grade science at Nichols Mock Elementary learning took flight and got a little messy as students got up close with nature's food web.
In Ms. Kerlin’s class, students dissected Barn Owl pellets by hand to uncover what’s really on the animal's dinner menu.
The pellets are collected by Texas Parks and Wildlife and sanitized in a way that makes them safe for students to handle without gloves. Through the investigation, students reviewed how energy moves through a food web, how predators and prey are connected, and the balance of an ecosystem.
Armed with small tools and curious minds, students carefully picked apart the fur that owl's can't digest to uncover tiny bones hidden inside each pellet.
Timid exploration turned into squeals of excitement as students used identification sheets to sort and decide what animal the bones belonged to. In table groups and as a class, Ms. Kerlin asked the students to discuss what those clues revealed about the owl.
Did that owl seem to have a preferred dinner? Was it particularly hungry that day? What environment do you think the owl lived in based on the evidence?
With those questions - and their answers - in mind, Ms. Kerlin said her students are now ready to apply what they've learned to more complex food webs as they continue their ecology unit.