They always say frog legs taste like chicken, and I would have to agree.  However, at school, we’re not eating those frog legs, we are dissecting them.  Yes, our Middle School students have studied the various systems of the human body: muscular, circulatory, skeletal, digestive and reproductive systems and are now investigating these systems in frogs.

We use grass-frogs that are formaldehyde-free and we have them injected with dye so that the veins are blue and arteries are red. This helps our students identify easily the circulatory system.   It is interesting for our students because, when dissecting the stomach, they have found beetles, June bugs, and other insects that had been eaten.  In addition, they have opened some to find the eggs.  They have extracted the brain, eyes, and tongue – and the girls aren’t even squeamish - Way to go, girls ;-)   

Before the pairs of students began dissecting a real frog, Mrs. Schenk, their teacher, had them virtually dissect a frog.  Literally, the students went to a website and dissected a frog on the website using their mouse.  Each time they cut correctly and identified the part, they were given points.  Once completed, students understood the process and were confident to journey into the real world experience of dissecting.