Dissection trays

[cintinative]

We are planning to do a fair amount of dissection this year.  

I watched part of a Youtube video where the person dissected a fetal pig on an aluminum tray that looked suspiciously like one of my aluminum jelly roll pans.  Not to be gross, but will my jelly roll pan work just as well? Can I adequately clean it after?  It can go in the dishwasher.  If not, I was eyeing the disposable foam one on Home Science Tools because it was not expensive (for the fetal pig only).

As far as the other dissection--are all (non-foam) trays basically okay?  I expect we will probably only use them this year, although advanced science may lead us to revisit dissection later. 

 

[Wheres Toto]

Dissection pans have a thick pad or wax inside them so that you can stick the pins in and they'll stay put fairly well.    I have a couple of the washable pads that I use just on regular lunch-type trays and some of the styrofoam disposable ones.  The thick washable pads hold the pins much better but the disposables are adequate most of the time.

[cintinative]

2 minutes ago, Where's Toto? said:

Dissection pans have a thick pad or wax inside them so that you can stick the pins in and they'll stay put fairly well.    I have a couple of the washable pads that I use just on regular lunch-type trays and some of the styrofoam disposable ones.  The thick washable pads hold the pins much better but the disposables are adequate most of the time.

 

Are you able to link where you got the washable pads?  When you say lunch-trays do you mean cafeteria trays? Because I have a couple of those, and if I could find the pads that fit them, that would be great. 

[Wheres Toto]

Yes, plastic cafeteria type trays.  I have a bunch that I use in class to hold materials for all different things.  It gives them someplace to put the dirty dissection tools down without putting them on the tables, and keeps everything together. 

Home Science Tools.  It's also wear I bought my dissection samples and other tools.   I bought this but don't use the pan, just the liner.

https://www.homesciencetools.com/product/dissecting-pan-10-x-7/?nosto=nosto-page-category1

[Reefgazer]

I wouldn't do that  - you don't want preservation materials embedded in the small nooks and scratches in your pan and then re-use it for food.  If money is an issue, save the styrofoam meat trays from the market (you'll need a larger one for a fetal pig, a smaller one for a worm) and use that.  If the pig is adequately and properly cut, the meat tray will hold.

[mellifera33]

When I was trying to cheap out on dissection materials for a co-op, I bought a bunch of brownie pans and big black candles from the dollar store. I melted the candle wax and poured it into the pans, and they worked fine. 

[cintinative]

3 hours ago, mellifera33 said:

When I was trying to cheap out on dissection materials for a co-op, I bought a bunch of brownie pans and big black candles from the dollar store. I melted the candle wax and poured it into the pans, and they worked fine. 

 

I had not considered this. I am thinking about teaching two other students as well as my two and this would significantly reduce our costs.  I could even buy eight pans and probably save money this way. 

[Wheres Toto]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

 

I had not considered this. I am thinking about teaching two other students as well as my two and this would significantly reduce our costs.  I could even buy eight pans and probably save money this way. 

Doing large dissections they can work in teams.  I usually have at least 2 students working on one animal.  There are certain procedures that are much easier with an extra set of hands. 

[cintinative]

27 minutes ago, Where's Toto? said:

Doing large dissections they can work in teams.  I usually have at least 2 students working on one animal.  There are certain procedures that are much easier with an extra set of hands. 

 

What do you consider large?  I was going to pair them for these: frog, fetal pig, sheep heart but do individual for crayfish, earthworm, and starfish. I am going to end up with a clam and a small sponge as well but I wasn't going to order extra of those--just try to make it work with one specimen. 

With my two boys I wasn't worried at all. With two extras I need to reevaluate some of these. I still think only one pig though. 

[Wheres Toto]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

 

What do you consider large?  I was going to pair them for these: frog, fetal pig, sheep heart but do individual for crayfish, earthworm, and starfish. I am going to end up with a clam and a small sponge as well but I wasn't going to order extra of those--just try to make it work with one specimen. 

With my two boys I wasn't worried at all. With two extras I need to reevaluate some of these. I still think only one pig though. 

I did pairs for all of those.   The crayfish and earthworm I'd stick with pairs, it can take 4 hands to pin back the skin of the worm and the crayfish can be tricky pulling back the exoskeleton.  The starfish and clam can definitely be individual specimens.   Watch your scalpels with the clam.  We broke multiple blades trying to get them open. 🙂

 

[cintinative]

@Where's Toto? I forgot the grasshopper. Did you pair on that one as well? Thank you.

[Wheres Toto]

3 hours ago, cintinative said:

@Where's Toto? I forgot the grasshopper. Did you pair on that one as well? Thank you.

Yes.  I had the set from Home Science Tools and paired for all of them.