Big Sister has been working on this deer skeleton for some time. She spied it by the side of the road last spring, and realizing how well it had been preserved and naturally cleaned, she begged to collect it and bring it home.
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| Sizing up the ribs... |
I have a policy about bones. If they are generally flesh free and no brains are present, they can come into the house. And so these did. Yay scavengers!
She did have to clean the bones from a little flesh and dirt, then organized them all. She spent some time articulating the skeleton last year, but there were a few challenges, including some bones that she just did not know where to put! The bones sat for a while, and every once in a while, she would run down to check out a bone that she had learned something about in her reading and research.
This spring, she is ready to articulate the skeleton, and mount it on a flat board (like thin ply-wood) for a 4-H project. She's really been researching to figure out each detail.
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| Puzzling together a vertebral epiphysis and vertebra. When it fits, it fits perfectly! It's quite satisfying when you find the right one. |
As this was a juvenile deer, perhaps under a year of age, the epiphyseal joints have not fused. That means that for many bones, in particular the vertebral column, each bone has one to two ends that have separated. Big Sister has had to puzzle together each epiphysis to its primary bone- a task that took some time and patience.
Big Sister has some other projects in mind this year. She's been learning to sew since a family friend gave her a few basic lessons, and of course she will present a cultural program about her 4-H trip to Japan! I'll post about those things later on.
Little Brother has been learning about rocketry for the past four years, and wants to do a small presentation at this summer's 4-H fair. He has had this project sorted out in his mind for some months, and today he laid out what will be his demonstration display. He wants to explain what each part of a rocket is, and how it works.
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| Laying out the demonstration display for show in the county 4-H rocketry class. |
He started making these rockets from paper towel tubes, foam, and other household items a few years ago with a science, nature, and art summer camp. He can't seem to get enough of it! Boys do seem to like their explosions! And I confess that after watching a group of 4-H rocket club boys launch their rockets last spring, I think it is awfully exciting too!
Last year, Little Brother managed to enter three categories, and win a trip to the state 4-H fair. He was top of his group in each project. This year, he has asked to keep it simple and only enter one category. That is cool. I appreciate that he knows what his tolerance level is!
4-H has been such a great thing for these kids. I'm grateful it is still around and part of our lives!
