Minds at Work

This current traveling exhibit that we have up, Crime Lab Detectives, is turning out to be a big hit.  Of course we have school tours and I have the privilege of helping with these tours.  The kids seem to really be enjoying themselves.  "I love solving puzzles!"  And this is a giant puzzle.  The kids really have to use their senses and critical thinking to work out all the clues and figure out who it is.  The kids pick up on the smallest things, things I didn't even catch in the interviews.  It's amazing to see their little minds at work.  We use math, science, and language skills to solve the crime.  I have been able to work at three of the six lab stations:  footprints, physical evidence, and fingerprints.  They all have their upsides and downsides but I have to say that my favorite station is the physical evidence.  Every time I work that station I am able to add something new to their story and through working with them I learn new ways to approach the subject of the physical evidence.  My absolute favorite thing to discuss, however, are the maggots.  Yes, maggots.  The fish died and the maggot inside it tells us how long ago the crime happened.  But then at the end I tell them how modern medicine is bringing back the practice of using maggots to clean out wounds.  Boy do the kids look at me!  Sometimes they get kind of melodramatic about it, sometimes they squirm, and sometimes they simply stare at me, but there's always a reaction.  I love it!  "That's gross!"  Yes, it is gross, but it is so cool!!!!  How often do you get to talk to people about maggots, I mean seriously.  My mom, being a nurse, has dealt with unintentional maggots in wounds so I've even gotten to tell that story!  Crazy.  I'm not a bug person, and I don't want maggots on me but it's so cool.  The kids will say that they are never getting cut again...I tell them "Just don't let it get infected!".  It's so fun.  It really is a learning experience both ways.  When you are a docent you have to be able to alter your teaching style depending on the age of the students, the attention span of the students, and many other things.  You learn to adapt and alter your speech as you learn to tie it into the crime even more.  Sometimes you're tap-dancing depending on if the kids aren't ready to change stations yet but even that requires you to keep your wits about you.  Now, as much as I've been mentioning kids in this article, adults have enjoyed this exhibit as well.  So bring the whole family out and see if you can solve the crime in Crime Lab Detective through May 5.