Forensics Day 4

To get into the forensic science mindset, students were led through a few warm-up activities. We started by testing our ability to detect when someone is lying by playing two truths and a lie, and then examining our short-term memory by compiling missing person descriptions about group members that had stepped out of the room. 

 To gain initial practice with forensic skills, students analyzed how blood splatter patterns differ depending on the tools used as well as other factors that lead to variation such as the angle, speed and force the individual uses. Students also examined the components that make up fingerprints such as arches, loops and whorls, and discussed how the arrangement and number of these features make our fingerprints one-of-a-kind. 

The majority of our morning session was dedicated to students applying their forensic skills by working through five lab stations. Students gathered evidence from each of the stations that pertained to a fictional crime in order to reach a conclusion. Stations included analyzing handwriting, blood typing, chromatography, fingerprinting and toxicology. 

Gift and Nut working at the toxicology lab station.

Sophia working at the blood typing station. 

To wrap up the morning, we watched a short episode of Forensic Files to prepare students for the afternoon when they would start planning and filming their own CSI video. 

Below are the two CSI videos students made today:

                                  Basketball Mystery Video:

                                  Robbing Roomies Video: