Animal Dissection Cut Out At Philadelphia School, With Help From PETA
Universal Bluford Charter School Welcomes Modern Teaching Tools That Make Kindness a Part of the Curriculum
For Immediate Release:
December 17, 2014
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
When the science department at Universal Bluford Charter School wanted help with replacing animal dissection with humane teaching tools, PETA rushed to answer its call.
The group has donated the popular Digital Frog virtual-dissection software to the school, which will give students the chance to learn science without crudely cutting into once-living animals. The software allows students to dissect frogs in a virtual environment and contains animations of the living body, side-by-side comparisons of different species, and modules on how frogs sound and where they live. The benefits of the switch don’t stop there—studies have repeatedly found that interactive software such as Digital Frog teaches anatomy more effectively than animal dissection.
“My sixth-grade scholars are extremely excited while working on the digital frog dissections. They are learning about how closely the frog’s body and theirs are connected,” says Franklin Squire Mims, sixth-grade science and social studies instructor. “They all want their chance again and again to get on the software. This is a great insight to introduce them to the science of the body.”
“Virtual Frog will allow Universal Bluford Charter School to modernize its biology curriculum and teach students to understand animals without harming them,” says PETA Director of Laboratory Investigations Justin Goodman. “The school’s decision to replace crude animal dissection will spare the lives of countless frogs, save the school money, and provide students with a more effective and humane learning experience.”
The millions of animals used in school dissection come from biological supply houses, which breed animals, or are obtained from animal shelters or the wild. The National Science Teachers Association endorses the use of modern non-animal methods as replacements for animal dissection. Programs such as Digital Frog are effective in saving teachers time and money as well as increasing student confidence and satisfaction.
For more information, please visit PETA.org/Dissection.
