How to Teach Crime Scene Investigation to Kids

Crime scene investigation is the process by which police and other law enforcement officials observe and dissect crime scenes to determine what took place, and to find clues that can lead to solving the crime. Teaching children about crime scene investigation can serve a variety of purposes, including showing them a career they were not familiar with, helping them understand the problem-solving process and enhancing their deductive and conclusive reasoning skills.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drinking glasses
• Soft-bristled paintbrushes
• Cocoa powder
• Scotch tape
• White paper

Fingerprints

1. Have the children sit on one of their hands for a minute so it gets hot and sweats.

2. Have each child press a finger to the side of a drinking glass.

3. Have each child dip a paintbrush into a dish of cocoa powder and lightly dust the drinking glass.

4. Have each child take a piece of Scotch tape and press the sticky side to the fingerprint they dusted.

5. Have each child peel the tape from the glass and stick the tape to a piece of white paper and label who the print belongs to.

Find the Culprit

6. Press your fingerprint onto a glass and tell the children the glass was recovered from a crime scene.

7. Have the children dust the glass for fingerprints using the method above.

8. Have the children compare the fingerprint they found with the fingerprints of all the children.

9. When none of the prints match, allow the children to fingerprint you using the method in step 1.

10. Celebrate with the children at a mystery solved.

Tips & Warnings

• If you use a dark glass, try talcum powder and dark paper instead of cocoa powder and white paper.
• As with any project involving breakable objects and children, be sure to supervise the group through the whole process.

References

• Home Schooling