Amy Wolff, DVM

Our sandbox is located outside the classroom near the student patio. We keep it covered with a tarp to keep out the local cats! The students love the exercise. We don't necessarily assemble an entire skeleton. For example, we might bury a portion of a mandible, then ask the students to identify whether it was a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore based on its dentition. Sometimes asking a critical thinking question about the bone is more fun than just naming it.

I really like this idea, simple yet engaging. I can see a lot of applications for this, not only with medical terminology, but recognizing disease symptoms as well.

We have a large sandbox outside our classroom where we bury various loose bones. The students locate them like they were on an archeological dig and have to name them. Then we have them assemble the skeleton