Squid Dissection Workshop
In order to preserve them overnight, the squid can
be frozen and thawed the next morning. Frozen
squid can easily be obtained at Chinese markets
and from local supermarkets, often in the frozen
food section. If obtaining them from the local supermarket
and/or if the package is marked “Calamari” make sure that
they are whole squid and not just “tubes and tentacles.”
On the day of the workshop, organize the dissection
tools for each group. Set up the cooking corner. Crack
the eggs into a bowl and stir. Pour the seasoned flour
mixture into the plate.
Workshop:
Introduction
Organize the students into groups of 2 or 3.
Who has ever heard of a squid? What do you know
about squid? Take answers from the students.
Hand out the squid diagrams.
Everybody needs clean hands for this because we are going to eat the squid
at the end of the class!
As the students wash their hands, place the dissecting materials on the tables.
External anatomy:
Place the squid right side up on the plate. You should have the mid-ventral ridge
facing you with the tentacles at the top.
1. Arms and tentacles. Are they the same size? Do they look alike? How many arms
are there? How many tentacles are there? Take answers for each of the questions.
2. Look at the suckers with the hand lens. Notice all the small teeth in a ring
around the suckers. They are used to hold the prey. Squid capture their
prey with the tentacles and bring it to the arms to be held until the prey
stops struggling.
3. Look inside the circle of the arms and tentacles. The small black dot
is the beak. Use a toothpick to push the tissue back from around it. Can
you see the 2 halves? It looks like a parrot beak, and is very powerful.
It is used to tear pieces from the prey.
4. The eyes are much like our own, but the lens is shaped like a football.
What is the shape of our eyes? Squid can tell the difference between
light and dark, blue and yellow.
For the Workshop
you need (for a
group of 2 or 3)
•2 paper plates
•1 pair of clean scissors
•4 toothpicks
•1 hand lens (optional)
•1 scrap of paper
•Squid diagrams
•1 squid
in the Classroom
