Cow Hearts & Dentists & Chemistry, Oh My!

Hey friends! The little Llamas and I were invited to a field trip at the Sanford Brown College's School of Health with our homeschool group, and man - what a fantastic experience!

We started out with a general orientation, and separated into groups after that; there was a group that learned about ultrasound, another that learned about chemistry in the pharmaceutical lab, and another that learned about dentistry! All of the kids learned about each specialization by spending about forty-five minutes with their in each area.

I started out with the kids got to experience what the students who become sonographers (or ultrasound technicians) learn about in their daily classes - including examining the most spectacular cow heart one might imagine.

Therefore, extraordinary cow heart = copious amounts of bovine cardiological photographs. I simply couldn't help myself. Ha!

After learning a bit about the anatomy of the cow heart (which is larger, but nearly identical to a human heart), and then seeing several of the children have ultrasounds done on their own hearts (which was REALLY AWESOME!), we moved on to the dental clinic.

In the dental clinic, the kids got to meet this happy, toothy dragon, to learn how to properly brush their teeth, and then everyone was offered a complimentary tooth cleaning and simple examination. Wow! It was my girls' first "real" experience with the dentist, and it was an excellent one. Our little one even said, "Oh, I LIKE the dentist!" when she was done. And let me tell you - I was so happy to hear that!

After that, I headed over to the chemistry laboratory, where we had a short lesson on the importance of - and how to make - I.V. bags. Very cool.

It was right around this time that us mamas were being treated to complimentary massages by the massage therapy students downstairs. Oh. My. Word. Amazing. Obviously no photos were happening then! So, instead I give you a really cool photo of the oldest Llama-ling's hands under a U.V. light after a quick lesson about about germs and the importance of hand-washing. The kids had to put this interesting gel on their hands (to represent the germs) and then wash it ALL off. This is a "before washing" shot - the after shots were not so interesting, but it did show which kids were more thorough hand-washers than others, ha! A couple of them had to go back more than once!

Then it was off to the pharmaceutical chemistry lab, where the kids learned a little about what goes in to making medications and dosages, etc. Then, they all got to make their own bath bombs. This is SO something our kids love. And apparently, aside from the cow heart, this was the best part of the day. All the kids loved to smoosh the oil and baking soda/citric acid together and form their own little shapes (mostly balls, as you will see). 

So there you have it - a little bit of our day at the Sanford Brown School of Health. It was an absolutely wonderful experience, and one that we will remember for years to come! I'm so glad that we got to spend a day there with all the kind, thoughful faculty and students. They went above and beyond for us!

Until next time,

-Kristen...