Animal detectives

The activity

Talk with slideshow

Pupils will be introduced to some of the ideas behind forensic science and then take part in a series of activities to help solve a ‘crime’.

Hands-on experiments

Pupils will work on a short paper based activity matching footprints whilst each child will have the opportunity for their own footprint to be taken. Pupils will also be able to take their own fingerprints and eliminate themselves as suspects from the crime. They will solve a series of clues to complete the puzzle and find out who committed the crime.

Learning outcomes

Pupils will learn or build on basic forensic science concepts and investigate ways of looking at evidence and deciding what it tells us.

Important information

Target age range – Years 1 and 2

Group size – 1 school class (25 to 30 children) working in small groups

Length of activity – 1 hour

Safety – Most of our materials can be brought off the shelf

Equipment – All equipment is provided by the visiting scientists. Pupils will require their own pencil and may like to wear overalls as the activities can be messy.

Classroom set-up – The room should be arranged for up to 6 groups of equal sizes. The tables should be covered with newspaper if possible with a little extra available for the visitors to use. Use of an interactive whiteboard or computer and projector is required.