"Crack the Code" Forensics Escape Room - Fingerprint Edition

"Crack the Code" is an escape room style activity for use in your forensics classroom or as part of any unit on fingerprinting. It contains 9 puzzles (plus a handful of bonus puzzles), covering the basic concepts of fingerprinting. Students must find hidden keys, use decoder wheels, and discover hidden messages to "Crack the Codes" and catch the crook! Solving the puzzles requires a knowledge of the basic types of fingerprints, ridge pattern characteristics ("minutiae" like bifurcations, enclosures, and ridge endings), methods of developing latent prints, matching prints, and other topics covered in most every unit on fingerprints. The puzzles contain short readings that help students to learn a brief history of fingerprinting as well. Descriptions and solutions are provided for each puzzle. You can use all of the puzzles or choose just a few in designing your own custom escape room to match your needs. Provided are some suggestions for how to run an escape room in your classroom- from using actual 3 or 4 digit locks with boxes to simple answer sheet style "locks" for a no-cost experience. This simple pdf download is a great way to experience your first escape room in your classroom. My students LOVE this! So will yours!

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Also see my video guide for the critically-acclaimed Chernobyl miniseries on HBO: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chernobyl-Miniseries-Episodes-1-through-5-4678824

If you liked season 1 of the Serial podcast, then you will LOVE Bear Brook, a facinating tale of a murder that would make forensic history!. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bear-Brook-Murders-Podcast-Interrupted-Case-Study-Worksheet-Episode-1-4788564

Listen to episode 1 and I promise you'll be hooked!!! {https://www.bearbrookpodcast.com/}.

A “Top 10 Podcast of the Year” {https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2018-in-review/the-best-podcasts-of-2018}.

Another activity I love is this podcast activity (link below) that uses the popular Radiolab podcast to introduce the important but complex topic of the CRISPR gene editing technique. This question and answer worksheet has students follow along with the podcast, answering questions as they go, but "interrupts" the podcast to have students think more deeply about the ethics and implications of this powerful new technology. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CRISPR-Interrupted-Radiolab-Podcast-printable-worksheet-4329465

You may also be interested in my video guide for Three Identical Strangers- the fascinating account of triplets separated at birth and reunited in their 20’s.  A riveting real-life examination of the nature vs nurture debate. A must see! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Three-Identical-Strangers-Interrupted-Film-Guide-and-Worksheet-with-Answers-4338684