Dissecting Cow Eyes + STEM=FUN!

What better STEM activity is there than the Cow Eye Dissection???
This is one of the most talked about labs that we have done at Stucky Middle School.  The Cow Eye dissection lab.  It is both feared and loved.  It can be slimy, grimy, or ooey gooey fun.
We are using fresh cow eyes from a local butcher, Yoder Meats in Yoder,KS, that we have used for the past two years.  They were harvested and frozen from cows brought in for slaughter in the last couple of months.

To prepare for the lab we are going to preview the lab with a video from The Exploratorium in San Francisco.  Click this link  to view a slide presentation that takes you through the steps of the dissection. Click this link to view the video that will take you step by step through the process.
My hope is that during this time the students will get rid of some of their squeamishness and become more comfortable about the lab.    The students will fill out a few short answer questions to go along with the video.

  This lab went so much better this year than last year.  I feel that the preview day had a great impact on how the lab was so successful. I counted only 7 or 8 students that refused to touch the eyeball.  I made the suggestion, for the students that were uncomfortable in handling the eye ball, that they could take pictures and record videos for their group.  This made sure that all were engaged into the lab.  My female students made up 4 of the 8 that would not touch the eyeball.  This is such an improvement from last year.  My students are so awesome.

This is awesome.

How does my manicure look?

   

Is this a meatball?