Tuesday, April 11th marked the day of this year’s STEM Sorority starfish dissection! In preparation for the lab, members grouped up into teams of three to examine and explore the insides of these fascinating creatures.

During the dissection, the marine biologists-in-training were tasked with following the provided dissection manual. The students first cut a circle in the center of the starfish then a flap along its arm and finally cut off one of the arms to observe the animal’s internal organs and structures. 

We explored the different internal systems of the starfish, such as the digestive system, present from the mouth at the starfish’s center to the digestive glands along the arms, and observed the interesting internal and external radial symmetry of the starfish.

By the end of the day, we had all learned a lot about starfish and became a little more grateful to not be one.