Mary had a little sheep’s heart

Vivian Bottino really had her hands full Monday. The teacher was in charge of providing each group of children in her academic summer camp with a scalpel, goggles and a sheep’s heart.

Yes, they may be first- through fourth-graders, but they’re already smart enough to carve into a sheep’s heart to learn all about the animal’s organ. It may be educational, but it’s pretty disgusting too, at least to Kyle Burrick, one of the students.

“The heart smelled bad. I didn’t like ripping it open,” he said.

The heart dissection was one of the many projects planned at this year’s Gifted Students Academy at UCI. Over the course of the four-week Exploratorium program, a group of elementary school students will spend the summer performing Greek tragedies, unwrapping artificial mummies and dissecting squids.

This year’s theme is ancient civilizations, and the curriculum will cover ancient China, Egypt, Greece/Rome and Latin America. Sixty elementary school students will get the chance to live at UCI and learn from world-class instructors, many of whom teach there, officials said.

“We want to create activities they’ll never forget,” said Bottino, one of the program coordinators. “UCI is well-known for being a research university, so we’re doing this for the little ones to give them an idea of what college is like.”

The program is intended to foster academic achievement in gifted students, said Darlene Boyd, the program’s director.

“Our parents tell us that it gives them a level of confidence,” she said. “And it also gives them an edge in the content areas they’re studying.”

Instructors hope students will learn to apply the curriculum to future classes.

“One thing it does for the kids is it allows them to make connections,” said Jamie Amarasuriya, a program coordinator. “They may see something about ancient China and connect it to something they learn later on.”

By giving students a chance to study a range of topics, coordinators hope to provide them with an academically well-rounded experience.

“The program is multidisciplinary, Amarasuriya said. “I think it appeals to more kids that way. And it’s never too early to start thinking about careers. That’s why we have real professionals come in.”

Program administrators are hoping the program will find sponsors to help defray the cost, which ranges from $675 to $995, depending on whether the parents opt to leave their kids on campus.

“My ultimate dream is to have people that would endow us,” Boyd said.