Youth Veterinarian Initiative

OWL PELLET LAB for SBECA 6th GRADERS

Ms. Danielle Corbin, a 6th-grade science teacher at South Bronx Early College Academy, created the Careers in Veterinary Medicine curriculum in collaboration with the Wells International Foundation’s Youth Veterinarian Initiative (YVI) in 2021 and taught the curriculum to 25 students in Spring 2022.

During the 2022-2023 academic year, she successfully administered one part of this curriculum – the owl pellet dissection lab – to 80 6th graders, more than tripling student exposure to this hands-on exercise.

Students first measured the length of the pellets, weighed them, and pulled them apart to find the remains of the animals the owls had eaten.  Then, they used an illustrated guide to identify the bones in the pellets they dissected.

The June 2023 owl pellet lab was the final YVI activity that SBECA students participated in during the 2022-2023 academic year.

YVI is looking forward to working with Ms. Corbin and a new group of 6th-grade SBECA students during the 2023-2024 academic year!