Lesson Snips
Who Killed the Flowers?
This could be really good, or it could be really bad! The crime to be solved is, "Who went pee in the flowerpot?" Given four imitation urine samples, young chemists or crime scene investigators perform pH, glucose, and turbidity tests to...
Curated OER
Up for the Challenge?
A general engineering quiz can be given at the beginning of your engineering or technology unit to stimulate interest. A wide variety of topics are touched by engineers, including the medical industry, energy production, building design,...
Curated OER
Fiber Identification
Lab sheets for three different crime scene investigation activities are tucked into this resource. In the first activity, inquisitors examine a variety of fibers, including the fiber found at "the crime scene," under ultraviolet light....
Curated OER
Lesson One: Lifting Latent Fingerprints
Crime scene investigators practice collecting fingerprints off of surfaces in order to compare them to an imaginary crime suspect's prints. Instructions for using graphite powder and a Zephyr brush to collect the evidence are outlined....
Curated OER
Lipstick Chromatography/Ink Chromatography
Junior crime scene investigators are instructed in two different chromatography exercises. For female suspects, they separate and compare lipstick pigments. For male suspects, they separate and compare ink samples. A data sheet is...
Curated OER
Hairy Evidence! Hair Identification
Provide a mystery hair and a set of reference hair samples for middle school investigators to place on a slide and examine under a microscope. Materials and procedures are detailed on the first page, while a data table for drawing what...
Curated OER
Flesh Eating Bugs, Moldy Corpses, The Trail of a Killer
Learners read about how forensic entomologists use maggots to solve murders. In this forensic science lesson, students read an article and answer questions. They go to different websites about evidence and fingerprinting.
Indiana University
The Case of the Missing Computer Chip
Have your teams of students solve the simulated crime scene using clues presented in this thorough forensic lesson plan.
Indiana University
A Crime Against Plants
Have your students delve into the evidence involving a small tree and arrive at an explanation of what happened in this thorough lesson plan site. .
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Crime Science Investigation
In this comprehensive interactive tutorial you will learn the basic components of a crime scene investigation and how they are implemented. You will also learn various evidence collecting techniques, as well as how to properly document...
Cyberbee
Fingerprinting
Learn everything you ever wanted to know about fingerprinting! Provides links to a brief history of fingerprinting, FBI Kids site, a lesson in classification, fingerprinting identification and a game.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Chemical Reactions: Was the Blood at the Scene the "Real Mc Coy"?
The activity listed below comes well into the middle of a unit study. Upon studying a "crime scene" and the evidence provided, the students are to take notes, study photos or drawings, look at suspect alibis and statements and then...
![Natural History Museum: On Maggots and Murders: Forensic Entomology [Pdf] Website](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Natural History Museum: On Maggots and Murders: Forensic Entomology [Pdf] Website")
Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum: On Maggots and Murders: Forensic Entomology [Pdf]
Five-page article explains how forensic scientists, when investigating crimes, analyze maggots and blowflies to determine approximate times of death.
Other
Science Spot: Forensic Science Lesson Plans
Huge collection of teacher-created lessons, activities, PowerPoint presentations, and worksheets for classes in forensic science.
National Health Museum
Access Excellence: Dna Detectives
A hands-on activity from Access Excellence for advanced biology classes. Students are given a crime scenario and three suspects. Their mission is to determine 'Who Dunnit?' by obtaining and analyzing DNA samples. Requires extensive...
PBS
Pbs: What Jennifer Saw
How can eyewitness identification go wrong? What role can DNA play in protecting the innocent? This interesting site answers these questions and gets the opinions of several DNA experts on this fascinating subject.
Other
Crime Scene Investigator: Evidence Collection Guidelines
A list of specific types of evidence that could be collected from a crime scene. Links to methods for collecting the following kinds of evidence: blood stains, seminal stains, hair, fibers and threads, glass, paint, flammable liquids,...
Other
Crime Scene Investigator: Searching and Examining a Major Case Crime Scene
An engrossing explanation of the appropriate behavior needed at a major crime scene. What should be done with the body? How is photography handled? What about fingerprinting? How are curious onlookers dealt with? The answers to the...
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Dna Forensics
A concise explanation of the use of DNA technologies in forensic identification from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Additional valuable resources are provided.
National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine: Reading Gunshot Patterns
Various pictures of parts of the human anatomy showing gun shot trauma are found on this interesting site. .
National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine: The Bertillon System
Bertillon devised a system to make order out of the myriad of crime scene photos taken by the police. This brief site describes how that system worked and shows a number of crime scene photos taken from Bertillon's photo album.
National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine: Key Accomplishments, Dna
A brief history of the major discoveries related to DNA from 1865 until 1991. Pictures of the responsible reponsibile for these key accomplishments are included as well.
National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine: The 19th Century Revolution in Forensic Imaging
In the 19th century, forensic pathologists began to use words and pictures to describe cadavers and to teach using cadavers in the classroom. See a number of interesting photos of various crime scenes on this interesting site.
National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine: The Marsh Test
The Marsh Test, developed in 1832, was designed to detect poison in drinks. A short history of this test is provided along with photo of the test apparatus.