CSI Party 12yr

INVITATIONS: I created computer-made invitations and rolled them into a test tube.  They were hand delivered in the classroom. DECORATION:  I had three separate rooms with three separate decorations.  The Lab was decorated with tables with white tablecloths.  I peppered the walls with danger, flammable, and poison signs.  The Graduation Room was decorated with green and black streamers and balloons. Green tablecloths with black place settings were placed on the tables.  The Training Room consisted of 3 tables with green table cloths. ACTIVITIES:  As they entered, they got their picture taken for their badges. The boys and girls were given a tour of all three rooms.  The party began in the training room.  I dressed a teddy bear as a lab technician, and told the kids he was the boss. The kids were told they had to complete their training before they could enter the lab.  Each kid was given a homemade notepad and a pencil for quizzes they were to take at each session.  For a small party (9 or less) the kids can do the trainings in one group.  I had a large group (12 kids) so I broke them into 4 groups of 3.  Each group spent 10 minutes at a training table. After 10 minutes, they rotated to a different table. The trainings were divided into 4 sessions.  Session 1-Fingerprinting and handwriting:  I explained the 4 different types of fingerprints and had them press their finger on an inexpensive ink pad. I had them roll their inked finger on a piece of white paper and had them identify which type of fingerprint they had. Next, I gave them a face mask, one rubber glove, and a large make-up brush (all purchase at the dollar store).  I gave them a clear cup and with their bare finger, they touched a spot on the glass.  They dipped the brush in a small cup of black powder, (crushed black eye-liner -dollar store).  With a circular motion, they brushed over their print and used a piece of clear tape to lift it.  Handwriting: I showed them 5 different handwritten paragraphs.  These paragraphs represented 5 possible suspects.  I showed them a separate piece of paper with a signature. This signature represented the signature found on a randsom note at the crime scene. For the quiz, they were to match the signature found at the crime scene to the suspects handwriting. Session 2-DNA and hair: I found DNA print outs on Google images and printed 5 different print outs.  These 5 represented the suspects. I copied one of the 5 images and this copy represented the DNA found at the crime scene.  For the quiz, the kids had to match the DNA found at the crime scene to the DNA from the group of suspects.  They were told that this is how CSI's find the guilty. For hair, I cut 5 different stands of hair from wigs and put them on white paper so they could be visible.  These represented hairs found at the crime scene.  I showed them 2 pictures of people with similar hair colors. One pic was the victim and one was the suspect.  For the quiz, they had to match the hairs to the victim and the suspect.  The kids used tweezers and magnifying glasses to analyze the hairs. Session 3-Shoeprint and recorded noise. I printed 5 different shoeprints from google images; these prints represented the suspects. I copied one of the prints and told the kids that this print was found at the crime scene. They had to match the crime scene print with the suspect's shoeprint. Recorded noise- I had the kids listen to a person (my other child) on tape.  The quiz was to  identify the person's age, gender and race. They also had to identify any noise they heard in the background. Session 4: scents and lipstick.  Scents-I put 8 different scents on its own piece of cloth and stored them each into separate air-tight containers (dollar store). I told them that CSI often find liquid at crime scenes and they smell the liquid to identify it. In the 9th container, I put one of the 8 scents.  This represented a scent found at a crime scene. For one quiz, the kids had to identify each of the 8 scents. For the second quiz, they had to match the 9th scent to one of the other scents. Lipstick: I found a lipstick palette at the dollar store.  I chose one color and put it on. I pressed my lip around the rim of a glass.  For the quiz, the kids had to identify the proper lip color. After the training was graduation. At graduation, the kids received their badges with their picture, job title (ex. Blood Spatter Expert), and job description on back. PARTY SNACK-The snack was in the decorated graduation room. The snack consisted of chocolate cupcakes with a green frosting drawn fingerprint.  The kids drank green juice from lab flasks. Around Halloween time, I found brain shaped ice cubes to put in their juice. GAMES- I led the kids to the lab and sat them down. While the kids ate, I kidnapped the teddy bear and created a crime scene.  The crime scene consisted on juice, a half eaten cupcake, paper fingerprint, a ransom note, a paper shoeprint, and a strand of hair. The kids failed to notice the kidnapped bear, so I made a big deal of it. I had the kids gather around the crime scene and called them up one by one to collect evidence in accordance to their job titles. (ex. The Forensic Photographer took a pic of the crime scene. The toxicologist collected a juice sample. The trace evidence tech collected the hair.) They each put the collected evidence in evidence bags. (ziplock backs with a homemade evidence label glued to the bag.) After all the evidence was collected, the kids went on a scavenger hunt to figure out who kidnapped the teddy bear.  Scavenger hunt:  I made a list of riddles (ex. This keeps our food cold so that it won't turn into mold). When the kids figured this to be the refridgerator, they searched the refridgerator and they found a piece of paper.  The paper contained a rap sheet of a kidnapping suspect. (Rap sheet-a picture of the suspect, shoeprint, fingerprint, DNA printout, and signature).  When they collected all 5 rap sheets, they compared info to the info found at the crime scene. (While the kids were on the hunt, I neatly laid out the evidence for them to compare. ex. the hair strand became a DNA printout). Finally, I played a tape of the kidnapper.  I made sure the tape had a car horn in the background.  If the kids listened well during training, they should hear the car horn and deduce that the kidnapped bear was in a car outside. After they found the teddy bear, they played in the lab. The lab consisted of a telescope, petri dishes, test tubes, and flasks. I put baking soda, soap, vinegar, and water into separate containers for the kids to experiment with.  PARTY FAVORS-I made evidence bags, same as above. I put gummy body parts, an eyeball bouncy ball, a magnifying glass, and a flashlight.  The entire party costs $150.