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As a kid, I absolutely loved Encyclopedia Brown and Sherlock Holmes. What I really loved most about them was the science behind how they caught the bad guy... and now I'm going to share with you the basics of crime scene investigation in this section on forensic science.
Forensic science is a lot like engineering... it's a place where you get to use stuff you've learned in other fields and apply it to the real world. With forensics, you get to use biology when you identify blood, DNA and diatoms; chemistry when you're identifying unknown powders and poisons; physics when you're looking at shattered glass, bullets, and explosions; and earth science with you're looking at soil evidence.
In addition to collecting and analyzing evidence, we're also going to learn how to make rear-view spy glasses that let you see what's going on behind you, write in different types of invisible ink, and so much more!
Let's go step by step into the world of evidence, analysis, investigation, and decoding mysteries! Are you ready?
Once you've completed most of the labs in this section, try doing the COOKIE SNATCHER MYSTERY PARTY! This is a 5-player game. If you only have 4 players, assign a stuffed animal as player #5 and have person #1 go in with Mr. Teddy Bear and do instructions on Note #5. Not recommended for under 4 players.
Click to download the COOKIE MYSTERY PDF.
The basic principle that forensics is based on is that someone either brought something to the crime scene or left something behind, which is called trace evidence. Trace because it's usually really small, like a fiber of clothing, a hair, bits from a shoe, paint chips, wood splinters, or latent (invisible) fingerprints.
There's a lot we're going to cover! We're going to several different fingerprinting methods, including how to lift fingerprints so you can study them as well as how to make artificial fingerprints using stuff from around the house. You'll also learn about chromotography, which is how to separate black ink into its different colors so you can find the pen that actually wrote the mysterious letter.
We're also going to learn how to do fiber flame tests to be able to help you identify which fibers are which so you can match it with what the suspect is wearing. Chemical analysis is also really important, and you'll learn how to tell which powder is which using a matrix technique. We'll also look at counterfeit money by making microscopes, fake documents in different wavelengths of light, and learn how handwriting tells you a lot about a person and how they think and feel.
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