For Classroom or Homeschool: The Young Scientist™ Animal Dissection Kit
Looking for an easy-to-follow dissection lab for a budding scientist that covers the basics of animal anatomy?
Are
you interested in finding an activity that your students can do independently? Or do you have a homeschool student who
would like to work on basic animal anatomy through dissection? Then our Young Scientist’s Animal Dissection Kit is just what you need.
The Young Scientist’s Animal Dissection Kit includes 4 specimens to dissect and study: the frog, earthworm, crayfish, and
grasshopper. Each specimen includes its own easy-to-follow instruction manual featuring step-by-step instructions
for exploring structures, dissection, and basic inquiry. The kit comes with Carolina’s Perfect Solution® specimens, ideal
for schools and homes alike because they are safe, nontoxic, and have no specially mandated disposal requirements. Learn
more about this kit by reading the following excerpts from each of the kit’s dissection manuals.
Frog Dissection Manual (excerpt)
4. |
Find the large brownish structure in the center of
the body cavity. It is the liver (3), the largest internal organ, with 3
main parts, called lobes. The liver makes a
substance called bile, which helps digest the frog’s
food. Gently push the liver aside. The dark, rounded gallbladder (4) stores bile. |
5. |
The frog’s stomach (5) is a large curved
pinkish structure. In the stomach, food is broken
into pieces and partially digested. Notice that at
the front end of the stomach (toward the frog’s
head) there is a tube that brings food from the
mouth. This tube and the stomach are part of the
digestive system. A system is a group of
organs that work together with one main function.
The digestive system’s main function is to digest
food. |
6. |
Beginning from the rear end of the stomach is a
long, curled tube. That is the frog’s small
intestine (6), another part of the digestive
system. Usable food is absorbed by blood vessels in
the wall of the intestine and distributed by the
blood. The small intestine leads to the large
intestine (7), which carries the undigested
portion of the frog’s food toward the rear of the
body, where it exits as waste. Water from the waste
is absorbed by blood vessels in the wall of the
large intestine. The spleen (8) is a small,
dark-red organ near the small intestine. |
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Earthworm Dissection Manual (excerpt)
2. |
Gently open the body wall. Notice the many cross-walls, or
septa. Cut through the septa on each side with scissors, and then pin the body wall to the tray as shown in
the photo. Insert the pins at an angle, so they will not be in the way of your observations. |
3. |
Using a hand lens, locate the earthworm’s digestive organs. Food
enters the mouth and then the pharynx (4). From there, it moves through the esophagus (5) to the crop
(6). The crop stores food until it enters the gizzard (7). The gizzard is a hard organ that grinds up
food. The long intestine (8) absorbs nutrients from food before waste is excreted through the anus. |
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Crayfish Dissection Manual (excerpt)
7. |
Turn your crayfish over so that its ventral surface is visible. Use
a hand lens to examine the structures visible on the ventral surface of the crayfish. In your journal, draw
the crayfish as viewed from this angle. Title your drawing, “Crayfish, Ventral View.” |
8. |
Locate the mouth (7) and the mouth appendages. These are found just
below the base of the antennae in the middle of the cephalothorax. |
9. |
Locate the 2 large pincers, called the chelipeds (8). The chelipeds
are used for protection and for hunting food. Behind the chelipeds are 4 pairs of walking legs (9), which
the crayfish can regenerate, or regrow, if lost. |
10. |
Locate the 5 pairs of swimmerets (10) located on the first 5
segments of the abdomen. Swimmerets are leglike structures used for swimming, holding larvae, and moving
water over the gills. |
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Grasshopper Dissection Manual (excerpt)
5. |
Locate the 2 pairs of wings (5) found on the thorax. Lift the wings and locate the tympanum (6), an oval-shaped membrane used for sound detection. Also observe the fused, saddle-like
structure just behind the head. This is the pronotum (7), part of the grasshopper’s exoskeleton. The
exoskeleton is the hard outer layer that protects the insect’s soft internal organs. |
6. |
Locate the 2 compound eyes (8), the 3 simple eyes (9), and the pair of antennae (10) found on the head of
the insect. The large compound eyes of the grasshopper can see objects several meters away. The smaller
simple eyes are used to detect changes in light, and cannot actually see anything. The antennae are sensory
structures that help the grasshopper detect vibrations (such as approaching predators), odors, and other
external stimuli. |
7. |
Locate the mouth (11) of the grasshopper. The grasshopper’s mouth consists of many different chewing parts. |
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Opportunity knocks
Now that you’ve got a better idea of what this kit’s all about, we hope you’ll order it and give your young scientist
the opportunity to use his or her inquiry skills to learn about basic dissection techniques and the internal and
external anatomy of 4 very different animals. The Young Scientist’s Animal Dissection Kit comes with
everything needed to complete each dissection activity and is backed by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Order it today!
Extensions
Once students have completed the Young Scientist’s Animal Dissection Kit, they can explore other Young Scientist’s kits
such as the Young Scientist’s Perch Dissection Kit and the Young Scientist’s Starfish Dissection
Kit. Carolina offers other dissection kits that delve more deeply into animal anatomy. To learn more
about our extensive selection of dissection kits and resources and Carolina’s Perfect Solution® specimens, visit www.carolina.com/preserved where you can also find product information and secure ordering, classroom
resources, activities, and additional teaching tips.