Sheep Brain Dissection (Pre-Thanksgiving Rate Available)

Length

1 hour for middle school to high school students. Can be adjusted to accommodate class schedules.

Target Audience

Education: Grade(s) 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Teacher(s)/Educator(s)

Minimum participants:

No Minimum

Maximum participants:

There is no maximum, but for optimum interactivity, we suggest no more than 30-40 students.

Primary Disciplines

Health/Physical Education, Sciences

Program Delivery Mode

Videoconference – Webcam/desktop (Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco WebEx, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, etc...)
Zoom

Booking Information

AIMS Distance Learning will begin scheduling programs for the 2023-24 school year on August 15, 2023.

Book it!

For more information contact CILC at (507) 388-3672

Provider's Cancellation Policy

Adventures In Medicine & Science will not charge for programs cancelled due to weather related problems, such as snow days.

The full fee for Adventures in Medicine & Science: Sheep's Brain Dissection will be charged to sites if they cancel with less than 1 week notice.

About This Provider

 

Adventures In Medicine & Science (AIMS) Program of Saint Louis University

St. Louis, MO
United States

Adventures In Medicine & Science (AIMS) delivers interactive programs in health and anatomy education to students, utilizing human specimens to provide a unique look at the human body. AIMS is an outreach program of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Program Details

Format

Materials:
One per pair or group:

preserved sheep brain
a dissection pan
scissors
scalpel
forceps
probe
gloves

Procedure:
1. Obtain necessary materials.
2. Locate the structures of the sheep brain externally, using textbooks and other reference materials.
3. Observe the surface of the sheep brain.
4. Pull the two hemispheres apart slightly.
5. Locate various parts of brain as instructed.
6. Turn the sheep brain over so that the ventral side is on the top.
7. Instructor will go portion by portion with the students, identifying parts of the brain with them.

Discussion Questions during dissection:
1. Compare the relative sizes of the sheep and human cerebral hemispheres.
2. Compare the gyri and sulci in a sheep and human brain. How does the number differ?
3. What is the significance of your answers to questions 1 and 2?
4. What structural differences are there between the sheep and human cerebellum?
5. How does the size of the sheep olfactory bulbs compare to those of the human?
6. Based on their relative sizes, which of the cranial nerves seems to be most developed in the sheep brain?
7. What is the significance of your answers to questions 5 and 6?

Objectives

The students will:
1. Locate and identify the principal structures of a sheep brain.
2. Observe the internal and external structures of a sheep brain.
3. Reinforce their dissecting technique.

Standards Alignment

National Standards

National Science Education (NSES) Content Standards for grades 9-12?

Content Standard:K-12 Unifying Concepts and Processes: Systems order and organization; Evidence, models and explanation; Form and function
Content Standard F, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal and community health
Content Standard C, Life Science: Matter, energy and organization of living systems
Content Standard A Science as Inquiry

National Science Education (NSES) Content Standards for grades 5-8?
Content Standard A Science as Inquiry
Content Standard C, Life Science: Structure and function in living systems; Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Content Standard F, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal Health

State Standards

Missouri
Show Me Standards

(Science and Health/Physical Education)
Science 3. Characteristics and interactions of living organisms
Health/Physical Education 1. Structures of, functions of and relationships among human body systems