Clam dissection

We have dissected many things but this one was the weirdest.

A clam is a bivalve molluscs that usually lives buried in sand/mud.  The shell of a clam is fastened together at the back by a hinge-like ligament.  A clam has two muscles, one on each side that opens and closes the shell. Clams do have hearts and blood vessels.  Molluscs like clams have an open circulatory system-i.e. their organs are surrounded by watery blood which contains oxygen and nutrients for the clam.  Clams filter feed which means they draw in water containing food such as plankton and filter out the water through their gills.  Clams can live up to 40 years.  I know some people eat clams but ................I am so glad we do not, especially after seeing the inside of it and feeling the thick, tough muscle texture.  Now for the dissection.

Of course, we went outside.  We had everything ready to go, and we were following the step by step instructions-the first step was to simply open the clam.  This was a little more difficult than we anticipated.  The ligament holding the two shell parts together is very strong.  We thought it would just pop open but no.

Here is our science book, the packaged clam (stinks) magnifying glasses, dissection tools.

Stinky clam.

We ended up having to use a hammer to get the darn thing open so one side of the shell broke.

This is the inside of the clam.  The lining, the foot, and the muscles that open and close the clam.

A better shot of the muscles on the sides.

So that is it!  Wham, bam, thank you, clam!  Clam dissection-done!  I linked a youtube video below if you want to watch a clam dissection.

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National Geographic
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youtube video