Community & Business
4 June, 2021
Solving crimes at local primary school
MAREEBA State School (MSS) hall became the scene of missing gold last week, with 80 of their top science students in charge of finding evidence and solving the crime.
BY ELLIE FINK
MAREEBA State School (MSS) hall became the scene of missing gold last week, with 80 of their top science students in charge of finding evidence and solving the crime.
A and B level science students were required to complete activities set up around their school hall to find evidence of which class mate was the culprit.
Travelling Science Educator from Education Interactive Jamie-Lee Thompson hosted the workshop using her knowledge in the forensic field.
“I used to work as a forensic science researcher by finding ways we can fi nd DNA and fingerprints to solve crimes and I have a background in teaching so I have combined the things I love,” she said.
“The scenario was a crime where we had found an individual unconscious and there was some missing treasure on a marina.
“The kids had to work out how this person got hurt and find the treasure.”
Ms Thompson said that the overall goal was important in growing a team of forensic scientists.
“The goal today is to help the kids to solve the crime as well as help them find a career in science and teach them how fun science can be and inspire them to think about going into science,” she said.
“Hopefully the workshop taught them what forensic science is and showed them the different types of biology and chemistry used in forensics.”
MSS Head of Department Curriculum Prep-Grade 2 Valarie Dayes said that her and college Nadine Apps decided this workshop would show high achieving children what forensics is like in real life.
“We came across this workshop through our promotional material and it looked really engaging and like something the students would really enjoy and something that might challenge our students who need some extension work,” she said.
“We chose Forensics because it is something that children see a lot on TV and in movies so we thought it would engage them and bridge the gap between what they see on TV and what happens in real life.”
