Norton Middle Schoolers build whale skeleton

Sixth graders at the Norton Middle School got to build a 17-foot Pilot Whale skeleton this Wednesday, as part of a Science Fun Day.

The students, who were in Team 6 Purple, assembled the wooden model in about 20 minutes.   

 “It was made out of wood, and it was a full-sized replica of a Pilot Whale,” said student Jennifer Petrilli.

 Science teacher Cheryl Mulligan said the model was provided by the Lloyd  Center for the Environment, in Dartmouth.  The center's  staff members helped the students assemble the model in the school gym. 

The center also provided a half hour slide show, and let the children handle mammal pieces, including baleen, teeth and bones. 

 The students said they not only learned about a whale’s physical make-up, but they discovered a lot of interesting facts about whales in general. 

“I learned that one of the Pilot Whale leads the group, and if it gets lost, it’ll send a signal, and they could all get stranded on the beach,” said Justin Lunn.

“A seagull can choke a whale,” said Hunter Campana.   “If a whale is small and tries to eat it, it can suffocate,” he added. 

Several of the students said they had been whale-watch cruises, and now, they are excited to go on more.   

The fun day included other non-whale activities, in which the students made silly putty, shot off water rockets, and constructed and flew paper helicopters. All the activities were sponsored by the school’s Parent Advisory Board. 

“I thought it was really interesting, and I really liked it,” said Joey Annand.