Published: April 27, 2009 10:26 pm      

Grayson students go further with frogs

Mummification, burial part of class experiment

GRAYSON — The frogs that sixth-graders dissected in Beverly McDavid’s science class may not make it to the afterlife, but it won’t be for lack of preparation.

The students took the gutted amphibians to social studies class where they stuffed them with salt, slathered them with baby oil and added a dusting of cinnamon, sage and pepper.

The students wrapped each frog in gauze, placed them in boxes covered with gold paper and plan to bury them for a month in the wetlands behind East Carter Middle School. Just before the end of the school year they’ll exhume the sarcophagi and check the frogs for signs of decomposition.

In a way, the animals already got a second life. Mummifying them was Steve Branim’s idea. He’s a social studies teacher at East Carter.

When he heard his sixth-graders were dissecting frogs, Branim figured he could recycle the carcasses in a study unit on ancient Egyptian culture.

Making the mummies will bring to life, so to speak, ancient religious beliefs and cultural practices. Later, in class, they will compare the polytheism that dominated ancient religious thought with the monotheistic model that prevails today.

The process necessarily takes some liberties with ancient mummification techniques — not too many stores keep natron on their shelves. “We tried to get as close as possible with what we have,” Branim said.

“It’s a long process. It would be really long for a human,” said Sarah Bailey, one of the students. She enjoyed combining the science of dissection with the culture studies. “We got to see what the Egyptians did,” she explained.

The frogs will be interred beneath pyramids. Andrew Midkiff made one of them out of cardboard sprayed with a textured paint that looks like sandstone. Andrew reflected on the ancient custom of burying mummies in elaborate tombs: “It showed how much they liked the person. It showed their gratitude,” he said.

Making a pyramid wasn’t easy and left him with a respect for the architects of old. “They were creative and smart,” he said.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.