Middle School Classroom Chronicle

A legendary sixth grade science lab, the Chicken Mummification procedure models ancient Egyptian embalming while emphasizing collaborative work and detailed data collection: a perfect cross curricular project which blends science and our current social studies focus, ancient Egypt. 

Students first record baseline data: sketching, measuring girth (body, leg, neck), weight, and performing a unique smell test. The chicken is prepared with a wine wash and coated entirely in cinnamon. The central preservation step involves burying the chicken in a Natron mixture—a chemical blend of baking soda and  salt. The final goal is to observe and quantify preservation effects by collecting post-mummification data as we remove the chickens from their burial in a few months

This process demonstrates the removal of the Five Essentials for Life (Food, Water, Oxygen, Comfortable Temperature, and Comfortable pH) that stales the decay driven by microbes (like bacteria and fungi), which need these to live. Mummification is a method of embalming that stalls decomposition. The Natron mixture preserves the chicken by successfully eliminating the essential element of Water through Osmosis, where the high salt concentration draws moisture out of the chicken's tissue, thereby preventing the growth of decomposers.

Students will notice that the ancient Egyptian mummification process proves to be quite successful to this day!