Heart Dissection Workshop

Year 6 were very lucky to take part in a heart dissection workshop during Science Week. The workshop started with the leader revealing a very big heart weighing 2kg’s! The children had many guesses, and then we were told that it was the heart of an Ox. The science leader cut open the heart to show children the different parts of the heart and what it is called. The importance of the heart as a muscle, but also transporting blood and oxygen around the body was highlighted. Children learnt many scientific vocabulary, such as oxygenated blood, deoxygenated blood, valve, arteries. Children were then given a lamb’s heart to observe and dissect in groups in order to identify the different parts. They successfully identified the Vena Cava, the Pulmonary artery, the valve, the Ventricles and Atrium. They also noted the different textures and why that was important, e.g. the artery wall is smooth and thick so that blood can travel through
smoothly without any friction. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the children to get a hands-on experience with an organ and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Year 6 have been learning about Evolution and the study of Evolution over the years. One aspect they focused on when studying Evolution is how fossils are formed and what fossils can tell us about species that existed thousands of years ago. They learnt about Mary Anning and her discoveries of fossils and what impact that had on the world. During
Science week, they were able to make their own salt dough fossils. They measured and combined a list of ingredients to make the ‘rock’ and then used different tools and shapes to imprint their fossils.