Have you ever heard of OWL PELLETS? If not, prepare to feel a little gagged but intrigued.  According to the Autobon, owl pellets are small ovals that can be found in the woods, consisting of tiny animal bones and fur that the owl cannot digest (Autobon, 2025). The owl basically coughs these pellets up, and they land on the forest floor.  These pellets hold the keys to a really exciting science project for students.

Owl Pellet Science Project Overview:

Supplies:

-Owl Pellets (order online)

-Paper plate for each pellet

-Black construction paper for each pellet

-Tray (to avoid mess on table)

-Use a pencil, scissors, or other object so kids can pick apart the owl pellets.

-Plastic gloves (optional); if not, wash hands with soap & water after touching pellets.

1. For the science project, order owl pellets. (Your children will dissect them.)
2. I would recommend giving your children paper plates on trays to avoid any mess. 
3. The owl pellets we ordered came in aluminum foil and looked like mini baked potatoes. The children undo the wrapping and expose the pellet which contain fur and bones. 
4. The children will need something to help them pull apart the fur and bone.  (I think we used pencils and a pair of scissors. You can have children wear plastic gloves to be extra safe if you desire.)
5. For each pellet, give your children a piece of black 8”x11” construction paper. The children assemble the skeletal remains on the paper.
6. Once they have finished dissecting, the children glue the assembled skeleton remains to the paper for a finished science project.
7. Then, the children can research what animal the owl ate based on the bone structure.

Where to get Owl Pellets? Thankfully, none of us have to find a forest to scour the ground for owl pellets because they are commercially available online. I would recommend ordering owl pellets from a reputable website. When I taught 4^th grade, I had students work in small teams of 3-4 kids per pellet to reduce the costs.  As a homeschool mom, I ordered two pellets per child to dissect.  Sometimes, an owl pellet will not have as many bones, so I wanted to ensure we had good ones.

Is this safe? I’m a little bit of a germ freak, so before I did this lesson, I did some research to make sure it wouldn’t put my students at any kind of health risk. If I recall, the ones that I ordered had been “baked”, thus reducing the germ factor.  I still had my students (and later my children) use plastic gloves when dissecting to reduce any potential germ factor. Be sure to research the risks and if this is a good fit for your family.

Why Do This Project? This is a great way to capture your children’s imagination and tie it into a science lesson.  They will learn about the skeletons of animals, and it is a direct lesson on the food chain.  It’s a fun science project that has a great finished project.  This lesson could be used to springboard into additional lessons, such as reading books on owls, the food chain, and the skeletal systems.

Blessings,

Jeanne

References.

Audobon. (2025) News. What is an Owl Pellot? https://www.audubon.org/news/what-owl-pellet

Copyright 2025