Museum Workshop Lets Students Dissect Real Hearts

Just in time for Heart Health Month and Valentine's Day, the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center is once again offering its Matters of the Heart workshop.

The museum is collaborating with Confluence Health and Wenatchee Valley Medical Group (WVMG) to give local students an opportunity to learn about the heart and explore its functions.

Museum spokesperson, Terra Sokol, says the centerpiece of the event is a dissection lab using pig hearts.

"This will give kids hands-on experience on what surgery might look like, although it isn't the one-to-one equivalent of surgery on a human. It's going to be a great lab and students are going to have a great time learning about anatomy through this."

Sokol says medical professionals from Confluence and WVMG will give a brief lecture before the participants suit up for the dissection.

"At the beginning of the lab they're going to give a lecture on heart ailments as a quick informational lesson. Afterwards, the kids will start suiting up. They're going to have the whole surgeon's gown, gloves, and cap. And they'll have the option of wearing a mask, although it is not required."

In addition to dissecting a heart, the lab will also feature a segment on fusing it back together.

The event is designed for students in 4th grade and up and Sokol recommends children who are squeamish should avoid attending.

This year's Matters of the Heart will take place on Saturday, February 17 from 1-3 p.m. at the museum.

The cost is $35 for members and $45 for non-members. Advance registration is required and spots are limited to 40 participants.

A registration form and more information can be found by clicking here.

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