Museum of Cultural and Natural History hosts children for crime scene investigation activities
A week off school is a week of fun for the Central Michigan University Museum of Cultural and Natural History.
Local Mount Pleasant schools are on spring break, and for the first time, the Rowe Hall museum had a week of events planned for kindergarten through sixth grade students.
On Wednesday, a "crime scene" took place at the museum.
“We are all about public outreach and education. We would like kids to have good experiences with the museums, and spring break is giving us that chance,” Museum Education Coordinator Sheree Hall said. “It is a week that kids are out of school, and this allows us to provide an overall fun learning experience.”
With the help of museum studies students, Hall was able to make this week possible. Dearborn Heights junior Kaitlyn Schroeder volunteered to create an activity and invented a crime scene.
“Sheree asked people in my museum studies class to volunteer and design lesson plans. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me, so I came up with the CSI theme," Schroeder said. “I have a major in anthropology and a minor in museum studies, which made a crime scene investigation the perfect mix. This was a very enriching opportunity for me; I was able to create something and see it through all the way.”
A storyline was told involving a crime that was done at the museum. The kids would determine whether the victim was a male or female, and, from there, decide who the suspect was. According to Grand Haven junior Brittany Hild, these types of events are the best way to educate children.
“I have volunteered for various activities, but nothing regarding education before. This week was the first time for education purposes. There is more interaction through events than an average tour,” Hild said. “As of right now, this is the best way to get kids involved and get them to visit the museum on their own free will, when it's not school related.”
The investigation had three stations: Skeleton Analysis, Fingerprint and Dentition Match Up. CMU Police Officer Mike Morrow attended the event and brought in a detective to help solve the crime.
About 40 children and their parents attended the crime scene investigation. College of Science and Technology's Institute for Great Lakes Research Coordinator Jessica Lapp brought her son, along with two of his friends, to the museum Wednesday.
“We needed an outdoor activity, and the kids were interested in being detectives,” Lapp said. “My son even brought his magnifying glass. The kids may come to the other activities throughout the week as well.”
Lapp's son, Nicholas, said he liked how the event was set up.
“I like to investigate. I really liked the skeleton activity because you get to put the bones together; its like a puzzle,” Nicholas said. “The whole morning is also like a giant puzzle. I think that Ms. Angela is the suspect because her fingerprints and teeth marks match.”
