by Anisah Ullah, Staff Writer
This past Monday, the Physiology and Sports Medicine classes went on a field trip to “Bodies…The Exhibition” in Buena Park. This exhibition consisted of preserved bodies for the students to observe. The Physiology and Sports Medicine classes, which are about the body and its functions, found this to be a success, in that it included all the appropriate displays.
“This was a chance for students to see cadavers dissected at various body system levels,” said Lehua Werdel, physiology teacher. The experience was “fun” for Werdel, who mentioned that it was her first field trip in 13 years.
The exhibition was a great learning opportunity for students.
“I really liked it because we were able to have a new look and perspective on how our bodies worked,” said Halimah Ahmed (’15). “Seeing everything from the inside is a different experience.”
Sports Medicine teacher, Jason Kols, noted that his class learned more about the human body and were able to see it from a “different perspective”. The purpose of the field trip was for the students to be able to observe the body systems they learned about and the body systems they will be learning about throughout the course of the year. The exhibition was a way for them to see real examples.
Students were excited to learn new things as well as recognize what they had already learned.
“The skeletal and digestive systems have already been covered in class, it was great reinforcement for them to be able to see it in physical form,” said Werdel. “A lot of the students, as I was walking around, had those ‘aha’ moments.”
Although the exhibits were a useful and visual way to learn, some students worried about the cadavers involved.
“Although it’s sad to think that the embryos and fetuses were real, it was amazing to get to see the embryo at each stage,” said Monica Awad (’15). “I think the best thing I learned was how to tell if the skeleton was male or female.”
The students were not assigned any work as a follow up. They had nothing but the exhibits to learn from.
“I was hoping they would be interested enough to make it a valuable learning experience and they did,” said Werdel.
