W+H students in grades 6-8 were greeted outside of the Middle School STEM room last week and immediately cautioned by Mrs. Andrea Barnett, MS science teacher, that it had been the scene of a crime. Sixteen students were now tasked with helping to solve the crime by practicing techniques used by criminologists, forensic scientists and lawyers for the next four days after school.
As they walked in, they noticed the STEM room had been transformed into the porch of a beach house. Step 1 was to carefully monitor the scene and collect and record the evidence. The scene was broken down into eight sections so teams of two could concentrate on each part. The students took pictures and used a crime scene map to record each piece of evidence including two cups of soda, a guitar pick, garbage pail with a towel that smelled like cologne, a chocolate candy wrapper and a comb with hair. There was a blood trail on the floor along with dog and human footprints that had stepped in paint. Mrs. Barnett was able to give the students some background on the four suspects and the victim.
On the next two days, the STEM room was transformed into a forensic laboratory. Assisted by Upper School students Manat Grewal ’27, Duaa Noor ’27, Kimberly Zhang ’27 and Elana Nieporent ’27, the Middle School students learned about and practiced techniques used to develop fingerprints to determine if threads were made of wool or cotton. They also compared pH of liquids and tested white powders to determine their identity. Students left each night discussing their possible scenarios and motives.
By Day 4, the tests were completed and students role-played each of the suspects and their defendants. Everyone came up with confusing alibis and students realized how hard it was to be sure of "Whodunnit?" Not every crime gets solved but scientific techniques continue to develop more accurate tests!
