Science Detectives at Fenwick Primary! 🕵️‍♂️🔬

Today Ayrshire College visited and thanks to Shona, Derek and Amy,  we put our science skills to the test and discovered how real detectives use science to solve crimes!

When we arrived, we were shocked to hear that a crime had been committed at Fenwick Primary School — and it was our job to solve the mystery!

First, we learned how to use chromatography to investigate the ink from a pen found at the scene. We compared different ink samples to see if we could find a match.

Next, we became fingerprint experts! Using fingerprint analysis, we carefully examined the prints left on the pen to work out which suspect had handled it.

After that, we used microscopes to closely examine fibres left behind at the scene. We compared these fibres with clothing from our three suspects to see if we could find a connection.

We then tested the pH of the “saliva” found on a half-eaten sweet to gather even more evidence.

Finally, Shona demonstrated how to analyse the chemicals in a soil sample taken from a shoe print at the scene. This gave us another important clue!

After lots of careful investigation and teamwork, we were amazed to discover that Mr Houston was guilty! He returned the sweets and apologised for not following our school value of honesty. 😉

What a fantastic way to use our scientific skills in a real-life mystery!