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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Tabitha makes a great point. Many of us are doing our best to present multi sensory experiences. You've got the small ready made.

We did a series of saturday science programs on physiology this past winter. We bought cow or goat parts from the halal butcher a couple of blocks away -- heart, liver, brain, eye balls, maybe more. no chemical smell. When our wonderful Bengali volunteer, Kozi, found out the dissection specimens were halal, she happily took them home to repurpose for her family dinner.

Lynn Cole
Queens Library
Queens, NY

-----Original Message-----
>From: Tabatha Yang <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Aug 3, 2011 2:02 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: have a heart!
>
>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>*****************************************************************************
>
>  We ran a biology camp this summer for junior high aged kids that had a 
>dissection afternoon. Some of them were not looking forward to it and so 
>we had an alternate birding trip planned. However, after seeing the demo 
>with the scientists they all enthusiastically wanted to participate. 
>When asked why the change in mind, they cited their only exposure to 
>animal dissection was in junior high science class with the standard 
>Carolina Biological specimens- faded, rubbery, alcohol soaked, smelly 
>animals that were all the same species, size, etc. They didn't really 
>enjoy that and these were the science geeks. The difference with what we 
>did was that we used animal specimens from the wild, so there was blood, 
>fat and diversity in species.  One group found the remains of a vole in 
>the stomach of an owl. They were thrilled picking through a  well 
>digested, naturally stinky, animal so that they could figure out what 
>the owl ate.  Of course they were fully goggled, aproned and gloved.
>
>-Tabatha, who gets excited goose-bumps when exposed to the smell of 
>mothballs b/c of many thrilling childhood visits to Harvard's Museum of 
>Natural History/MCZ
>
>-- 
>Tabatha Yang
>Education and Outreach Coordinator
>Bohart Museum of Entomology
>Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
>University of California, Davis
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
>On 8/3/2011 9:13 AM, Joe Ruggiero wrote:
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related 
>> institutions.
>> ***************************************************************************** 
>>
>>
>> Allissa,
>>
>> As usual, I don't know a thing about the technical issue you raise. 
>> However, I will say that one of the strongest memory triggers is 
>> smell; the mustiness of the dark cellar where your dad kept his tools, 
>> the scent of your mother's perfume on her dress coat. Of course these 
>> triggers can evoke both pleasant and unpleasant memories.
>>
>> All I'm saying is that if you eliminate all the odor you may be 
>> eliminating the most memorable part of the experience. And even with 
>> the odor, there is something to be learned there, too, no? The world 
>> is a messy place. I think we often try too hard to show visitors that 
>> it is not.
>>
>>
>> Joe R
>> www.TheExhibitGuys.com
>>
>> On 8/3/2011 9:07 AM, Daniels, Alissa wrote:
>>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology 
>>> Centers
>>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related 
>>> institutions.
>>> ***************************************************************************** 
>>>
>>>
>>> so today I'm taking the leap into doing a dissection demo with 
>>> visitors. Not surprisingly, the biggest issue is the chemical smell, 
>>> so I'm looking for advice--is there anything to be done about it? can 
>>> we rinse the heart periodically or will that just make a mess?
>>>
>>> any suggestions or other advice most welcome.
>>> hope everyone is having a great summer wherever you may be!
>>>
>>> AD
>>>
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>> Alissa Daniels, Science Program Manager
>>> Boston Children's Museum
>>> 617 426 6500 .342
>>> "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds 
>>> new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's 
>>> funny..."  " --Isaac Asimov
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>
>>> ***********************************************************************
>>> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers 
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>>> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at 
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>>
>
>
>-- 
>Tabatha Yang
>Education and Outreach Coordinator
>Bohart Museum of Entomology
>Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
>University of California, Davis
>[log in to unmask]
>
>***********************************************************************
>For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
>Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
>
>The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
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