Fun crime scene investigation activities for kids who like to play sleuths 

Are you living with a budding detective, who’s constantly delving through thrillers and crime fictions? Does he idolise Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew and is intrigued by mysteries and suspense? Well, it looks like it is time for you, as parents, to open a world full of opportunities where your child can play sleuths and solve crimes and mysteries. While impromptu detective games and mystery books satisfy a wannabe detective’s thirst, there are also fun and engaging crime scene investigation (CSI) activities that can totally be kid-friendly and even boost critical thinking skills. So, it will be a good idea to turn them into well-integrated STEM activities as well. Here are 2 crime scene investigation (CSI) activities that you can encourage your budding sleuths to try out. 

Collecting fingerprints 
As all crime fiction lovers know, fingerprints are vital CSI evidence. Therefore, a budding detective who’s constantly looking for clues to solve crimes, collecting fingerprints can be a fun and exciting CSI activity. Help your kid try out this fun activity at home to gain this skill.  
What you’ll need 

• Cello tape 
• Baby powder 
• Soft paint brush 
• A black coloured craft paper 

Step-by-step guide 

• Identify the best places to collect fingerprints from, like the places people touch the most, namely door knobs or refrigerator doors.  
• Now, gently dust baby powder on the door knob using the soft paint brush. The goal is to be careful as rubbing hard may erase the fingerprints.  
• Once carefully dusted, apply a cello tape on the powdered portions. This will transfer the fingerprints from the surface on to the clear tape. 
• Now, gently remove the tape from the surface and place it on the black craft paper. Your kid will be fascinated to see clear fingerprints on the dark background.  

Handwriting analysis 
In this exciting CSI activity, kids can enact the role of detectives and identify culprits by comparing graffiti with handwriting samples. In fact, this is one of the best family CSI activities where kids, parents and grandparents can participate together. Encourage your budding detective to try this activity at home. 

What you’ll need 

• 3 to 4 participants 
• Paper 
• Pencil 
• Whiteboard 
• A blindfold 

Step-by-step guide 

• One kid can dress up as the detective, while other members can act as suspects. Once the kid detective is blindfolded, the culprit from among the suspects can go ahead and draw a graffiti on the white board.  
• Now, all the suspects including the culprit should copy the graffiti from the blackboard and draw it using the pencil and the paper.  
• Once they are all done, the kid detective will collect their handwriting samples and compare them with the graffiti on board. The goal here is to identify the real culprit from among the suspects.