Skulls I is located in the "chuckwagon" in the middle of the animals field study area. It consists of a long table with two long, low benches on either side. This station can be taught standing at the open end of the table, sitting on top of the middle of the table, or sitting on one of the benches. All three of these options have advantages and disadvantages:

Standing at the open end of the table - Advantages: you can see all of your students, and all of them can see you, and you can lean over the table to help students with their work; Disadvantages: the students will be looking up at you the whole time and it is not the most rain-proof place to stand.

Sitting on top of the middle of the table - Advantages: you can see all of your students, and all of them can see you, and you can lean over and help most of the students with their work; Disadvantages: it can be uncomfortable for long periods of time.

Sitting on one of the benches - Advantages: you will be on the same physical level as your students while you are teaching them; Disadvantages: you cannot see all of your students all the time, it can be hard to reach all of your students to help them with their work, and long legs don't fit under the table.

Skulls II is in the covered space in the middle of the animals field study area. It consists of a long table and two long benches. This station can be taught standing or sitting at one end of the table, or sitting on one side of the table.

Please do not sit on top of this table. For advantages and disadvantages of standing vs. sitting, see Skulls I layout.

Remind your students that the skulls are fragile. The skulls should only be set down on the carpet square or on the fleece bag - never directly on the table. Many of the skulls have loose teeth - be gentle with them.

If one of your students is mistreating a skull, redirect this behavior. If the student still cannot handle a skull properly, they will not be permitted to handle a skull at all.

When you use two eyes to view the same object at the same time, you can tell how far away the object is. This is called "depth perception." Depth perception is useful for animals who hunt.

As humans, we are so used to processing this kind of information instantaneously that we take this skill for granted. Show your students what it is like to only use one eye - or what it is like not to have depth perception.

The finger method - Hold your arms straight out to the sides and point your index finger forward on each hand. Now close one eye. Bring your arms forward and try to make your two index fingertips touch. With one eye closed, it can be difficult to be accurate.

The shrinking hand - Hold your hands side by side a couple of feet in front of your face. Close one eye and slowly move one hand closer or farther away. The hand will look like it's growing or shrinking, but won't really look like it is a different distance from your face.

Playing catch - Find the depth-perception ball in the skulls box. Play a few rounds of a relaxed game of underhand catch with a student. Throw the ball back and forth enough times that the student can consistently catch the ball.

Now have the student close one eye. This time when you throw the ball, don't throw it to the student, just throw it straight up in the air and catch it yourself. The student will try to catch the ball, even though it is nowhere near them. This demonstration only works once, even though many students will want to try it.

This station takes a long time! Your goals for this station are to teach about teeth and eyes, and to get the skulls page in the field study notebook filled out. If you have done these things and less than a half hour has passed, then you can move on to other concepts. Please do not spend more than a half hour at Skulls.