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Sawmill Students Use Science Skills to Identify Animals from Skulls
Sawmill fourth graders had the opportunity to play detective while identifying different mammals indigenous to our state during a visit from the Department of Environmental Conservation on Monday.
The students used clues including the shapes of the animal’s teeth, size of their noses and direction of their eyes while observing actual and replica skulls to discover what animals they were seeing.
By the shape and size of the teeth and the jaw spacing, they were able to predict whether the skulls belonged to animals that were carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.
And by the direction of the eyes, the students were able to surmise whether the animals were predators or prey.
Among the animals they correctly identified: beaver, white-tailed deer, red fox and black bear.
The students also had the chance to feel the actual fur of assorted animals indigienous to New York.