To start off the six weeks the animal science class did some hands-on experimenting in making clay molds of animals and labeling their parts. The students used clay, toothpicks, tiny pieces of paper and, of course, their hands.

“We had a list of certain animals we could make, and we shaped the body and then used toothpicks and little sticky notes to label the parts of the animal,” junior Richard Renteria said. “I did the heifer and labeled its parts.”

The students had already learned about the different parts of the animal and created their models to show what they had learned.

“I wanted the students to actually see how the animal looked and where the positioning of these parts were,” animal science teacher Megan McMullen said. “It usually helps the students learn and remember things by doing some hands-on learning, so I thought this was the perfect thing. It also prepares the students for when we actually work with animals.”

“I did the dairy cow,” junior Madison Walker said. “An interesting part I labeled was the suspensory ligament, which is where the milk is filled in that gland.”

The purpose of the activity was to put the students’ knowledge to the test. Not only was this activity educational, but it was also something the students enjoyed doing.

“When we did this we had just finished a bunch of testing and it was kind of relaxing to get to just play with clay,” Renteria said. “Working with the clay was satisfying and relaxing.”