TDHS STEM Club Student Challenges a Hoot
Students Sophie Lewis, Kona Leslie, Rayanne Notbohm and Charlotte Mueller dissecting their pellets looking for bones.
THDS STEM Club Hosts Student Challenges
by Stephanie Bowen
Lunch hour looked a little different at The Dalles High School recently as students filled Ms. Rice’s classroom for STEM Club and eagerly awaited for instruction. The STEM Club activity for the day? Owl pellet dissection!
The STEM club, which typically consists of 5-7 students, hosts a monthly activity based on student interests and themes that they set out for each month. The owl pellet dissection was the kick-off competition for the group this year and drew a room full of interested students.
To make the competition even more interesting, students were challenged to reconstruct any skeletons or partial skeletons they could find... in just 15 minutes. Whomever could construct the most complete skeleton was the big winner.
Careful dissection can take some time due to the fragile nature of these pellets, so students had to carefully balance sorting out bones and watching the clock.
Senior Kai Hoff was the victor of the day with her near complete mouse skeleton.
Kai Hoff, winner of the Owl Pellet Dissection, with her prize.
Did You Know?
Owls generally swallow their prey whole but are unable to digest certain parts such as bones, teeth, and fur. The owl then spits up, or casts, the undigested parts back up, the resulting ball of fur and bones is called an owl pellet. Dissecting owl pellets in STEM Club helps to teach students about local wildlife, food chains, and ecosystems.
TDHS Science Teacher and STEM Advisor Cheryl Rice in front of the STEM club during the competition.
About TDHS STEM
STEM Club stands for Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Club.
The TDHS STEM club was created a couple of years ago, when the Columbia Gorge Stem Hub reached out to The Dalles High School Science department asking if they would like to be an advisor for the Chief Science Officers (CSO). CSO is a nationwide program that aims to elevate the popularity of STEM and empower students to bring STEM opportunities to campus. Students serve as advocates for STEM education in their schools and beyond, working with faculty advisers and the STEM Hub to implement action plans to promote STEM opportunities both on and off-campus.
STEM Clubs are a powerful way to engage and inspire students with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The purpose of the club is to be educational and fun while offering students unique learning experiences and helping explore future career options. The best part? No grades, no testing, just student-led learning, and a safe space for students to explore and gain confidence in STEM subjects. The STEM Club welcomes all TDHS students interested whether they are pursuing a STEM degree or not.
December’s STEM Club theme is superconductors.
