Processing a moose isn’t a skill you typically learn in school, but Alaska high school teacher Brian Mason isn’t your average teacher. He drove to school in December 2019 with a dead moose in tow that he shot and killed himself.

His 30 students helped him unload the moose. He gave them each a 4-inch boning knife and taught them to de-bone, trim and process the meat properly.

“You can learn certainly about anatomy from diagrams and textbooks and videos but getting your hands on an animal is a big part of the science aspect of it,” Mason told the Anchorage Daily News.

The students not only gained valuable hands-on experience learning animal anatomy, they also were able to appreciate hunting and trapping.

Mason got a special harvesting permit from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which allowed him to process the animal for educational purposes.

Mason’s school, Chugiak High School, has a program called World Discovery Seminar, which sponsors activities like these and other real-world, hands-on learning activities.