Dead Monkeys in the Classroom

Tedi and I are teaching a unit on the human body. I think back to AP Bio class and how our teacher brought in pig lungs and inflated them with us and let us touch them. Let me tell you, I really learned about lungs. So we went on a hunt for some left over animal parts. There are tons of cows around here and one has to die sometime, right?

I got the contact information of a local biologist. I was nervous to call and ask if he knew where I could get a heart or lungs for my third and fourth graders. I told myself, "Noelle would do this", and called. What an interesting conversation. Here are some highlights:

-"Just a piece of advice, and you can take it or leave it, but why don't you teach the kids about the organs in sitio?" I don't understand, so he clarifies. "Why not bring the entire animal into the classroom. You can get someone to prepare the body for you."

-"Did you say you were doing a unit on the human body?" Affirmative. "So it really sounds like you need a primate. Every once in a while I run into some monkey road kill. If I find some I'll pick it up and put it on ice as soon as possible. I usually have some stuff around the house....no, I don't believe I have any monkeys."

Jackpot.