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Owl pellet dissections are universally appealing to students. This predator/prey discovery experience is better than any wildlife video, with each child finding the skeletal remains of a real animal - most likely a rodent or insectivore. This kit includes everything needed for each student to perform an owl pellet dissection and identify the prey based on skull characteristics. Additional resources in the kit include: a tri-fold poster display of prey specimens, two videos on the natural history of owls, one mounted owl specimen, several books, and a new educational board game.
Grades:
K-8
Lending Fee: $20
Loan period: 3 weeks
Kit Reservations:
Advance reservation required.
Call (877) 227-3311.
More Information:
To learn more about the kit program, call (415) 379-5816 or email ssoule@calacademy.org.
Next Training:
Summer 2013
Purchase tickets online 
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Materials
- curriculum binder
- mounted owl specimen
- 7 prey skull specimens
- "Common Prey of the Barn Owl" display board
- 35 plastic tweezers
- 35 handlenses
- owl pellets (NOTE: there is an additional charge of 75 cents per owl pellet)
- Petri dishes (NOTE: there is an additional charge of 75 cents per Petri dish)
- 7 sets of the "Outrun the Owl" board game
- Books: "A Key-Guide to Mammal Skulls and Lower Jaws" by Aryan I Roest; "A Key to the Skulls of Noth American Mammals" by Bryan P Glass and Monte L Theis; "Owls: Their Natural and Unnatural History" by John Sparks and Tony Soper
- Videos: "The Barn Owl: An Introduction to Owl Pellet Labs" and "Owls Up Close"
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Activities
Owl Pellet Dissection: Have an unforgettable science experience as you discover the common prey of barn owls, learn how to use a dichotomous key to identify skulls, and test your own hypothesis about what barn owls eat.
Outrun the Owl: Learn about a food web involving barn owls and their prey, explore the resources animals need to survive, discover the impacts of natural and human activities on animal populations, and learn some fascinating trivia, all while playing this exciting board game!
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California Content Standards
Grade Three
Life Sciences
- 3b. Students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments, such as oceans, deserts, tundra, forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
- 3c. Students know living things cause changes in the environment in which they live: some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other organisms, and some are beneficial.
- 3d. Students know when the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.
Investigation and Experimentation
- 5d. Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction.
- 5e. Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.
Grade Four
Life Sciences
- 2b. Students know producers and consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers) are related in food chains and food webs and may compete with each other for resources in an ecosystem.
- 3b. Students know that in any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
Investigation and Experimentation
- 6f. Follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.
Grade Five
Investigation and Experimentation
- 6a. Classify objects (e.g., rocks, plants, leaves) in accordance with appropriate criteria.
- 6g. Record data by using appropriate graphic representations (including charts, graphs, and labeled diagrams) and make inferences based on those data.
Grade Eight
Investigation and Experimentation
- 9d. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop quantitative statements about the relationships between variables.
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