Strewn across tables in Ms. Sampar’s fifth grade science classroom is a medley of injured stuffed animals: a dolphin with a missing flipper, a stingray with a broken barb, a goat with a hole in its head. This is not the “Island of Misfit Toys” but rather a science project that will have students learning about the anatomy of animals, prototyping a prosthetic solution, working collaboratively, and making mistakes—lots of mistakes*.

*Carroll teachers normalize mistakes—and even create opportunities for them to happen—to teach critical thinking and innovative problem solving.

The curriculum was inspired by a memorable workshop Kelly Sampar attended about animal adaptations. “The instructor shared real-life stories of animals saved by prosthetics. One story—Allison, the sea turtle who lost 3 of her 4 flippers from a predator attack—really stood out to me,” she recalls. “Allison was the first sea turtle to be fashioned with prosthetics allowing her to swim. Most remarkable was where the idea originated—not from a marine biologist or animal expert—rather from a paddler inspired by boat rudders.”Back in the classroom, she introduced students to real-life injured animal stories, asking them to research and design their own solutions while documenting the process along the way.

Let’s see how it went …

 

Elsa DiGiusto and Maeve Gannon

Tell us a bit about your animal.

This is Bella (real name Beau, we renamed her). She is a goat that was born with a hole in her skull.

What was your solution?

When researching goats, we learned that young goats butt heads in play. With an open wound, Bella’s brain could get hurt, so we made this covering with bubble wrap, straws, and tape. We knew the cap had to be sturdy and soft over the wound. We used a hard plastic piece over the bubble wrap to do that. It also had to be removable to keep the wound clean, so we designed a way to fasten the cap to the goat’s head.

Did you make any mistakes along the way?

We made lots of mistakes trying to get the right size. First, we took measurements and tried to draw it. Then, we actually put the paper on the goat and sketched it out. Finally, we just used our eyes to see how big it was. We ended up with five different sizes until we got it right. We learned that everything works out.

What did you like about the project?

Elsa: I liked that I could use all my ideas to actually help something.

Maeve: I like that we had to plan it, draw it, and make it. That was helpful for how I learn.

 

Nick Scialabba and Drew Rushmore

Who is your animal and what is their injury?

This is Jared, a duck who was hit by a car and has a missing leg and foot.

What was your solution?

Because the duck needs its leg and foot to swim, we had to find something that was sturdy and flexible. We were fidgeting around with some metal wire when we had the idea to use that as the leg. We twisted and twisted until it was thick. It’s bendable and flexible so we also shaped that into a webbed foot and put fabric over it.

Did you make mistakes?

To attach the leg to the duck’s body, we originally thought of creating something like a cap. It worked at first but it fell off when you shook it too much. We then tried to attach it with medical tape but it was too thick. We eventually used duct tape (no pun intended!). We learned a lot about compromising and talking.

What did you like about the project?

Drew: It works for kids with dyslexia. I think all of us here have a bunch of things running through our heads—ideas and inventions. It was fun to take those ideas and build something from scratch.

Nick: Yeah, I definitely agree with that.

 

After this project, I hope my students will be willing to make mistakes, learn from that, and always try new things—and to know that they can do anything they put their minds to.

Kelly SamparLower School Science Educator