EXHIBIT CONTENT

The crime is a break-in and theft. The exhibit consists of the crime scene of a room and the garden outside. Adjacent to the scene are six lab tables where 15 clues are examined. There is also a suspects area and a solutions wall. The exhibit also includes board games depicting great detectives of fiction and 3 video units which depict additional clues of help to detectives in their quest for a solution.

SOLUTION TRACTS AND AGES

There are 28 clues useful in solving the crime, but there are two solution tracks to pursue. Visitors with less time can still solve the crime, but if your visitors are real Sherlock Holmes', they can pursue the more challenging solution. Two different "Detective Notebook" pages will guide visitors through the two solution tracts. To explore the exhibit individually, visitors will need to be of reading age, but younger children will be able to pursue a solution with the assistance of an adult as in a family group.

EVIDENCE AND SOLUTION CHANGE

The exhibit will come with two sets of key evidence so you can change out a few key clues halfway through your venue and present a new challenge to your return visitors.

TYPICAL INTERACTIONS

Families will of course be attracted to approach the exhibit as a team. Youth groups and classes may explore it on their own or in teams of two or three. The Detective Notebook pages will guide the process. Teacher pre-visit materials will suggest some activities to do in the classroom prior to the visit and the post-visit materials will support discussion in the school classroom of team findings. The renting Museum will be responsible for making the distribution copies of the Notebook pages and educator materials.

EDUCATIONAL CONTENT

Science Process Skills used in solving the crime include: observing, comparing, relating, sorting, classifying, analyzing and evaluating evidence, making inferences, distinguishing evidence from inference, problem solving, drawing conclusions, communicating, describing, working in teams, logical thinking, organizing data, role-playing, debating and mapping.

Science Concepts include: forensic science, evidence, fingerprints, footprints, chromatographs, DNA, insect life cycles, tread marks, hair analysis, thread comparison, and handwriting analysis.

Science Themes explained through the exhibit include: matter, patterns of change, models and simulations, scale, systems and interactions, diversity and unity.

The Story Begins......

The Johnsons have been away on a weeklong vacation to Hawaii. The next door neighbor noticed a broken window one morning and went over to the house to check it out. When she looked in the window, she noticed the pet goldfish has been spilled out of its bowl and had died. All that remains of the bicycle that was chained outside the house is the front tire. Some things have been moved and removed from inside the house. These were sure signs someone had been in the house.

Your visitors will scrutinize evidence left behind by the perpetrator as they look for clues outside the house, in the yard, and in the room where the crime was committed. They will record what they see in their Detective Notebook. They will see what witnesses have to say in video interviews. After perusing the scene; your visitors will be challenged by the crime lab activities as they work to decide which of the five prime suspects did the crime.

Activities at the lab tables:

To determine who did the crime, the following activities may be performed:

1. Tire marks were left outside the window. Do they belong to the stolen bike? Is there evidence of another vehicle? Did the homeowners or the perpetrator make the marks? Casts of the marks will enable your visitors to answer these questions. (Yard and lab sets).
2. Footprints were also outside the window. Can the size of the shoe be determined by measuring the print? At the lab, the cost can be measured to find the size of the print. (Lab set).
3. Which way are the footprints pointed? Is it possible to tell how tall the person is by measuring the stride length? (Lab set).
4. A pill fragment was found at the crime scene. A marquis reaction test will indicate what kind of pill it is. (Lab set).
5. Hair samples were found on the floor. Can one of them belong to the criminal? Samples taken from suspects and homeowners will be compared to the evidence. (Lab set).
6. DNA has been gathered at the scene. Learn to decipher the DNA test results to find who left it behind.
7. A cloth fiber was found on the picket fence. Does the analysis of the fiber indicate who might have left it at the crime scene? Test results from the forensics lab will reveal the answers. (Lab set).
8. Several fingerprints were found at the scene. Comparisons will be made to weed out which ones do not belong to the homeowners. (Lab set).
9. Broken glass is everywhere. What does it tell about the method of entry into the house? (Room set).
10. A tool was used to pry open the window. Compare various tools to the impression left in the wood to discover who tried to open the window (Lab set) (Room set).
11. Did one or more people commit this crime? What clues lead you to this conclusion? (All sets).
12. A crumpled piece of paper with handwriting was found at the scene. You will do a handwriting comparison to uncover who wrote the note. (Lab set).
13. Soil was found in the carpet at the crime scene. Compare the evidence with samples taken from around the home to determine who has been in the house. (Lab and Room set).

To determine when the crime was committed, the following activities may be performed:

1. Someone called the house at 1:00 p.m. Thursday. Examine cell phone records to determine who was the caller. (Lab set).
2. Observe the corpse of the family pet fish. The maggots that are present will give important clues as to the time the crime was committed. (Lab set).
3. A calendar on the desk has several days circled. Is this information important? What can it reveal about the crime? (Room set).

The exhibit also includes information on each suspect including their physical make up, their interviews, and their alibis. Each visitor will use their Detective Notebook to enter pertinent information. A clue grid is included to assist them in solving the crime.

Dates	Venue	Status
June, July & August 2005	Rocky Mount Children's Museum (Rocky Mount, NC)	Booked
October, November & December 2005	Museum of the Southwest (TX)	Booked
February, March & April, 2006	Lexington Children's Museum (KY)	Booked
June, July & August, 2006	Stauth Memorial Museum (Montezuma, KS)	Booked
October, November & December, 2006	Fox Cities Children's Museum (Appleton, WI)	Booked
April-September, 2007	Museum of Discovery	Booked
September 2007- January 2008	Minds in Motion (Eugene, OR)	Booked
January-May, 2008	Junior Museum of Bay County (Panama City, FL)	Booked
May-August 2008	Las Cruces Museum (Las Cruces, NM)	Booked
September - December 2008	Montshire Museum of Science (Norwich,VT)	Booked
January - May 2009	American Museum of Science & Energy (Oak Ridge, TN)	Booked
September - December 2009	Boonshoft Museum Discovery (Dayton, OH)	Booked
January - May 2010	Mobius Kids (Spokane, WA)	Booked
May- September 2010	Sternberg Museum (Hays, KS)	Pending

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