Anyone preparing to work with cows – such as beef cattle farmers, large animal veterinarians (which are growing in demand) and livestock managers – will benefit from having a solid understanding of the stages of bovine fetal development. After all, the growth and development that takes place in the uterus sets the stage for the success of those calves when they’re grown. Unfortunately, securing a deceased calf for students to examine up close can be difficult – and expensive. How can you show your students the different stages of a calf during pregnancy without the real thing? These life-size fetal calf models, and curriculum, can help.
Meet Realityworks’ Bovine Fetal Development Models
Although nothing can replace the real thing, these Bovine Fetal Development Models come close:
Research shows that being able to touch and see something is more powerful than only reading about it. With these life-size models, students can feel the weight of bovine fetuses at 8 different stages of development: corpus luteum and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 months. Students can examine the realistic ears, hooves and facial features of each model. In fact, we encourage teachers to pass them around the class. The more opportunities your students have to interact with each model – a learning method proven to be more effective than just reading or listening – the more they’ll understand the differences of each fetal development stage, and the care those stages require.
Better yet, those learning opportunities can be repeated over time. This saves instructors the cost of purchasing multiple cadavers as well as the mess of clean-up.
Request a quote for our Bovine Fetal Development Models
Free Lesson: Growth Stages of a Fetal Calf
Our Bovine Fetal Development Models include a ready-to-use, 1-lesson curriculum on the growth stages of a fetal calf. Like all of our curricula, the lesson is structured in 3 parts: a “Focus” activity intended to capture participants’ attention, a “learn” activity to convey the most important concepts, and a “review” activity that briefly reviews the lesson’s key messages and main points.
Additionally, each lesson begins with a lesson overview, lesson objectives and a lesson-at-a-glance that details lesson activities, required materials, suggested preparation steps, and approximate class time.
Learn More
Looking for more resources on helping students understand bovine fetal development and related topics? Consider these resources:
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- Explore the other hands-on learning aids we offer for addressing artificial insemination, bovine pregnancy and bovine reproduction, like our Bovine Breeder™ artificial insemination simulator and Bovine Birthing and Ultrasound Simulator
- Watch our recent webinar, “Engage Your Students in Animal Systems: Tools for Teaching Reproductive, Digestive & Muscular Systems,” to review engaging ways to teach students about the systems of horses, cows and pigs:
- Download our free Agriculture Program Implementation Guide to get tips and resources for creating a 21st Century animal science program
