Using Forensics in your Science Experiments
Most kids love a good detective story. Many of them watch crime scene investigation shows.
They may dream of being a forensic scientist someday.
What if you could give them a taste of crime-solving fun and cover critical thinking skills and STEM activities in a single lesson?
You can provide them with a science lesson they will not forget and will be talking about for a long time to come.
This kids forensic science fingerprint lesson plan is appropriate for students from Kindergarten to 5th grade.
It’s fun. It’s easy. It’s engaging. And of course, it’s educational.
The forensic science lesson has been included in a bundle of science experiments designed for kids.
What is a kid’s forensic science kit?
The kids forensic science fingerprint activity turns them into detectives. They learn about the scientific method while investigating their fingerprints. They also learn about the three types of fingerprints. Then, they can use their investigative skills to classify their own fingerprints as well as those of their classmates.
The activity also provides a lot of fun facts about human fingerprints and animal prints.
You won’t even need to buy a lot of expensive supplies!
You’ll need a few ink pads or markers depending on how many kids are participating in the activity. And you will need some playdough.
The fingerprint science experiment comes with all the directions you will need plus a lot of teacher tips. It also has a kid’s scientific method book.
What’s in the kid’s scientific method book?
The kid’s scientific method book contains six printer-friendly pages.
Page 1: Fill in the Blank information about fingerprints.
Page 2: Leads the kids in discovering and learning about the three types of fingerprints.
Page 3: Kids explore their own fingerprints and record observations.
Page 4: Time to compare and contrast with other fingerprints.
Page 5: Explore fingerprints with playdough.
Page 6: Fingerprint art activities.
Another one of my students’ favorite STEM activities is the Marshmallow Tower building resource! It uses another version of this scientific method booklet which is great for reinforcing skills!
That’s a lot of activities and a lot of science skills rolled into a single lesson!
With this kid’s forensic science activity, they will follow and use the scientific method, practice scientific and critical thinking skills including observation, hypothesis, classifying, using compare and contrast, and more. Plus, they will have a lot of fun while they are learning.
Plus this resource now includes a digital version for your digital science experiment! This is on Google slides and comes FREE with the PDF science experiment.
Here’s what other teachers are saying about the forensics lesson:
Conclusion:
You really can’t go wrong with the Fingerprint Science Experiment. Students will love it and be engaged in learning about forensics.
Do you know what the three types of fingerprints are? What type are your fingerprints?