I. Examination of Bone
In this activity, the teacher will obtain three long bones of a deer or cow from someone who processes meats and prepare the bones for classroom observations. Follow the directions on the teacher page provided, and encourage students to make detailed drawings and notes of what they see.
II. Examination of Bone Tissue
In the second part of this activity, the teacher may use professionally prepared microscope slides or microviewer slides of bone tissue and bone cells. Or, the teacher or students may wish to make their own slides with thin slices from the bone specimens used in the first part of this activity and to make smears of the marrow.
Extension: Skeleton Preparation
A suggested extension for honors classes or science clubs might be to prepare a mammal skeleton donated by someone such as a hunter, taxidermist, zoo curator, or scientist. There is an excellent guide for skeleton preparations available from Ward's Scientific. It may be obtained from Ward's Natural Science, l-800-962-2660, "How to Prepare Skeletons," curriculum aid.
Bone, anatomy, observation, trabecula bone, cancellous bone, specimen preparation
