Spring SAVY 2019, Day 4 – Forensic Science (1st/2nd)
Parents,
We are so close to cracking our case! Today we experimented with the process of lifting fingerprints from a crime scene. We built on our DNA learning from last week and connected it with genetic traits and fingerprints. Students learned why everyone has a unique set of fingerprints, and how that allows forensic analysts to use fingerprinting to incriminate suspects more reliably than anything else.
Students were fascinated to find out that our one-of-a-kind fingerprints are affected by many factors during fetal development, not just based solely on genetics! We learned that families share similar dominant genetic patterns, but everyone has unique prints… not even identical twins share the exact same print! Students were so excited to examine their finger prints under a magnifying glass and use an adhesive lifter to lift prints from a cup’s surface. Students also attempted to dust and lift their own prints. This was a challenging activity that students quickly realized takes patience, precision, technique, and organization!
Next week, we’ll be examining all suspect samples and conducting our final experiments to complete our case files. We will use these final findings and case files to present our conclusions to you (our parents) about who we believed committed the crime at our Open House! I’ve attached the videos from this week’s lesson for you and your child to watch together if you’d like. Have a great week!
Forensic fingerprinting lifting
Sincerely,
Stacia Mills
Focusing on Fingerprints
