Latin School of Chicago

Lower School Mummy Project Mummies and the ghoulish images they evoke are nothing short of enticing to the average lower schooler. To science teacher Dawn Kirts, however, they are a practical tool for introducing her fourth-grade students to the skills and processes of science. Each year, as the fourth grade studies the cultural and historical significance of mummies during its unit on ancient Egypt, Kirts works with students to observe and document changes as they embark on their own mummification project. The students start with the pharaoh, or in this case ���fruity pharaoh��� made out of a potato and an orange. They record the mass of their pharaoh and then, following the recipe of the ancient Egyptians, they begin the embalming process by making an incision on the left side and removing the internal organs. They stuff and cover the body with natron, essentially a mixture of baking soda and salt that the ancient Egyptians collected from dried-out river beds, to remove all moisture from the cadaver. For the next 20 to 40 days, the fourth graders watch as their pharaohs transform. Every few days the students weigh their pharaoh to determine change in mass, take photos and provide written observations. According to Kirts, the ability to write in a descriptive and detailed way about what they are seeing is one of the most important skills that students learn during the project. ���In science it is not only about quantitative observations,��� she explains. ���Students need to be able to use descriptive language. I always say to them, ���Even if someone didn���t have a photo, they should still be able to get a sense of your pharaoh.��� It is not enough to say ���It smells bad��� or ���It looks different.������ So as the pharaohs dry out, students report on brown spots they see developing, their location and size, as well other changes that are occurring. Their observations become part of a research packet that includes their photos. They also enter their data into an Excel document, create graphs based on the information and discuss the results. After the pharaohs have dried out, the students make amulets, wrap them in muslin and then use resin to keep the wrappings in place. Finally, in art class they build a sarcophagus to lay their mummies to rest. ���Throughout the whole process we are talking about change,��� says Kirts. ���There are physical changes and there are chemical changes in science. In the end the kids have to make a conclusion about the changes they think their pharaoh went through and present evidence to support their conclusion.��� As in any of the projects she works on with lower schoolers, Kirts��� goal with the mummies is to get students excited about doing science, help them become familiar with scientific concepts and ready to embrace science as they move on to more challenging topics in the middle school. ���We teach them about the scientific process, but it is at their level,��� says Kirts. ���It is about doing science just as much as it is about learning content. I feel we are successful when our students are comfortable working in the science room and they are able to make important connections to the world around them.��� ���I feel we are successful when our students are comfortable working in the science room and they are able to make important connections to the world around them.��� ��� Dawn Kirts, lower school science teacher Making a fruity pharaoh. Latin School of Chicago 25

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