I ordered a sheep’s brain from Carolina Biological Supply, the same place we got the heart we dissected earlier this year. On a recent Saturday morning we sat down to learn about the brain. Kieran sketched the parts of the brain, measured its length and width, and then cut it apart with a plastic knife. We noted some interesting features, like the enlarged olfactory bulbs of the sheep brain, since these animals have a more developed sense of smell than humans. Another fun day of dissection!
We spread out all our dissecting equipment, and opened some old anatomy books to the diagrams of the human brain.
Ready to begin.
Kieran sketched the brain, noting some of its parts.
“LITL BRAN” (little brain) and “BRAN ZTEM” (brain stem) plus “2HMZFERZ” (2 Hemispheres)
At last he got to hold the brain, something he’d been eager to do!
He cut the brain apart using a plastic knife included in the dissection kit. It’s much easier to cut up a brain than to cut the tough heart muscle.
He examined parts of the brain after cutting them off.
It was a good science project!
Steven E. F. Brown 