Last week, I ran into "Tuesday Morning" for a tablecloth and I left with a fantastic present for my 7-year-old: the "Forensic Science Crime Scene Investigator Kit" by ThinkBox. The kit includes easy-to-follow experiments and a workbook to record your findings. We began with a unit on collecting and analyzing fingerprints, where we learned about about the three basic fingerprint patterns. We used a graphite block to take fingerprints and we used dusting power and tape to lift prints off glass cups.
Then, we learned how to determine the height of a suspect (basically measure the length of a suspect's footprint, multiply that by 100 and divide the sum by 15). This was followed by a unit on identifing and classifing unknown substances. Using a pipette, litmus paper, and mysterious subtances, we learned how a liquid's pH level can hold an important clue to a crime scene.
Our favorite lab (even my four-year-old loved this one) was when we used a black light to retrace the steps, or invisible ink, her brother, "left" at a crime scene, which we created in the closet of our guest room.
I love educational kits that come with everyhting you need. This one is no exception, as the Forensic Science Crime Scene Investigator Kit comes with: a black graphite block, a ball point pen, a pipette, tape, lucite squares of paper, fingerprint dusting powder, test tube, litmus paper, dry erase marker, invisible ink, 1 g of Magnesium Sulfate, Sodium Carbonate, and Calcium Carbonate, and our favorite, the black light.
I'm heading back to Tuesday morning to see if they have any more ThinkBox educational kits. After all, I still need a tablecloth.
No comments:
Post a Comment