Taxidermy in the Classroom
Well, today I returned Hedwig the snowy owl and his sidekick, Cat-Headed-Eagle, the great horned owl. Protected in their plexiglass enclosures, the pair was a part of my classroom for a week and we’ll miss them. No, they aren’t alive, they are part of the Maine Audubon’s taxidermy collection which I borrowed with my Educator Resource Membership.
Before picking up the mounts at the Gilsland Farm in Falmouth, I shared the exciting news with my fifth-grade students. I didn’t get the response I expected.
“Wait, you mean they are real and dead owls?”
“No! Don’t do it! I don’t want to see dead owls!”
“It’s too sad! Tell me when you’re bringing them. I won’t come to school that day.”
I thought for sure my students would be excited. I reasoned with them, “You’ll never get to see a living owl this close. We will get to really examine it! Just think–those sharp talons and beaks! Those eyes! Those silent wings!” We had been learning about owls all week, but Olive crossed her arms, unimpressed. Rowdy looked out the window. Emma’s look of disgust was still plastered on her face, and directed completely at me.
“You know I didn't taxidermize the owls, right Emma?” I’m not sure she was convinced.
After reassuring my students that the owls had a natural death and were not killed for our viewing pleasure, they agreed to at least not boycott school…yet. Having the owls in my classroom for the week was rich, and my room will feel a little less lively without them. Despite their initial hesitation, my students gravitated to the owls every morning to look at them.
If you are considering borrowing the snowy and great horned owl, or any of the Audubon’s taxidermy on loan, do it. I’m sure you will be inspired by the mounts as I was. To get you started, here are the things we did before, during, and after hosting the owls.
Built background knowledge by reading books on Epic!, doing Mystery Science activities and lessons on owls, and watching these three videos on KQED:
https://video.kqed.org/video/deep-look-owls/
https://video.kqed.org/video/meet-worlds-smallest-owl/
https://video.kqed.org/video/deep-look-owls/
Created a food web that the owls would be a part of.
Asked the questions in a whole-class discussion, What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does this remind you of? These questions are being used by history, math, and science teachers, and it’s no wonder–the observations and questions that spring from these questions, especially when done as a whole class are insightful and interesting.
Draw as a way of observing. When we draw what we see, we slow down. (My students did this in art class)
Completed a Venn Diagram for the two owls based on what we can observe, then what we learned by reading.
Gave a brief presentation of fascinating facts to another class about great horned owls and snowy owls. My students just gave one fact each.
I used the texts the Audubon provided and wrote text-dependent questions for the students to answer.
Dissected owl pellets (This was highly engaging for all my students!)
Listened to the “Owl Dance” music of the Blackfoot Nation and learn about the owl dance (but don’t do the dance, as that is considered culturally insensitive.) We kept the drum beat by tapping our laps with our palms.
And a few things I didn’t do this time, but will do next time:
Cut string the length of different owl species and their wingspans. Tape the strings to a wall and compare. Math extensions: What is the difference between the greatest and smallest lengths? Is there a consistent ratio of body length to wingspan?
Research how the owl is portrayed in different myths from around the world
Create bug homes, to feed the things that owls eat: https://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/owl-facts-for-kids/owl-crafts/bug-homes/
Propose a puzzle for the class to solve that involves a decrease in the number of snowy owls. What questions would you ask to figure out the cause?
I live about two hours north of Falmouth. Driving four hours on a beautiful fall Saturday was not what I wanted to do with my weekend. However, I met a friend at the Gilsland Farm, and we walked for over an hour on the trails that meander over fields, through woods, and along the Sheepscot River. I also visited the Audubon store and bought a few unique, high quality Christmas gifts and chatted with the store manager about the newly developed Wabanaki curriculum books which the store carries along with other titles for naturalists of all ages. Returning the owls was no longer a chore, it was an outing.
And so, now I am looking forward to my next guests. I’m thinking the American beaver would have a lot to teach us or maybe the fisher or the pair of winter and summer long-tailed weasels once spring is here…