Visit www.HighTimberTimes.com to see an audio slideshow of the elk-heart dissection class.
A sense of excitement was in the air — as well as the scents of a real-life anatomy lesson.
On Feb. 10, students in Karen Griffin’s seventh-grade life-science class at West Jeff Middle School; performed heart dissections with organs harvested from wild game hunted and killed in the mountain area.
Local hunters, including some young hunters in Griffin’s class, donated the hearts.
Most anatomy dissection classes analyze organs processed and preserved with formaldehyde.
“(But) these are fresh and beautiful,” Griffin said of the muscled powerhouses.
With hearts in hand, students learned how the organs work and were required to label each aspect of the heart.
“This is not a cookbook approach to dissection,” Griffin said.
Students placed small pieces of paper with the typed names of each aspect of anatomy on the correct attribute of the blood-pumper. The paper got very, very bloody.
This is the third year Griffin has given students the chance to examine up close different animal anatomies. Students in Griffin’s class also do dissections on testicles, ovaries and eyeballs, and c-sections on dead pigs.
“When the students remove the unborn piglets from the uterus, 30 13-year-olds make the sound of angels … aahh,” said Griffin.
Today, it’s just strictly wild-game hearts, and the accompanying aroma fills the air in the classroom. The classroom’s door is closed.
“Nobody has thrown up or passed out, so we’re doing good,” Griffin said.
Part of the preparation for the class included discussions about the fact that this isn’t an icky assignment, but a miraculous opportunity to learn.
“A lot of kids were freaked out at first, but we can’t have that kind of energy in the room,” Griffin said.
Caleb Horrocks thinks the dissection class is fun, and he’s unfazed by the small amounts of blood that accompany such an undertaking.
“This is a good idea to bring these hearts in,” Caleb said. “You get hands-on experience without having to dissect yourself.” Caleb laughed at his last statement.
Jordan Arnold has no problem handling the heart sitting in front of he and his cousin Caleb Horrocks.
“This is really fun,” Jordan said.
Jordan is one of the young hunters who brought back two hearts from his family’s last hunting trip. He said he shot an elk himself and tracked it, but wasn’t able to find it.
Natalie Armstrong has a different viewpoint about the assignment, but was game to at least occasionally touch the smaller heart sitting on the black plastic butcher tray in front of her.
“This really isn’t my thing,” Natalie said.
Her dissection partner, Lilly Canfield, agreed.
“It’s a little gross, but it’s interesting,” Lilly said.
Trice Hufnagel is a substitute teacher and hunter and brought two hearts from recent hunting trips.
Griffin explained to the class that hunters help manage the elk and deer population, and she feels it’s a better alternative than letting animals starve to death through an exploding population and few predators.
Griffin also reminded the students to say a silent thank you to the hunters, to thank the animals, and to treat their heart sacrifice with honor and respect.
“Turn it inside out, and it’s beautiful,” Griffin said.
From he High Timber Times February 17, 2010
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