Does your child enjoy looking for clues and solving mysteries? If so, playing crime solving games is a fun and engaging activity!
While playing these games, your child will be working on key academic and soft skills. But, since they’ll be playing at the same time, they won’t even realize they’re learning. They’ll just think it’s lots of fun!
If you’re looking for some crime solving games for kids, here are three for you to consider.
Clue
The classic crime-solving mystery game, Clue has players use deduction and logic to solve the murder of Mr. Boddy.
The board depicts the Boddy Mansion. As they roll the dice to move around the board, players try to figure out who committed the crime, where the murder took place, and which weapon was used.
Mystery Substance
Mystery substance is a fun, science-based game for kids. You’ll need at least two players.
One is the chemist. This player starts in the kitchen, with the other players in another room.
The chemist selects one substance from the kitchen, and carefully places a small amount of it in a clear plastic cup. Then the chemist puts away the original package and cleans up any mess. This way there aren’t any telltale clues for the other players.
When the chemist is finished, the other players come into the kitchen and a ten-minute timer is set. The other players must work together to figure out what’s in the cup.
The chemist isn’t allowed to talk until the correct substance has been named. To solve the mystery, the scientists must use their scientific knowledge. They can:
- Observe the substance for color and texture
- Smell the substance
- Compare the substance to items in the kitchen (be careful to avoid cross-contamination!)
- Pour out a small amount of the mystery substance into another plastic cup for further testing, like combining it with vinegar to see if it fizzes.
Don’t encourage children to test a mystery substance by taste. Though this is a good way to distinguish salt and sugar, there are many unknown substances that can be deadly if tasted. Whenever you’re playing chemistry games, it’s a good idea to play it safe and follow lab safety rules!
If the players can’t guess before the timer runs out, the chemist wins the round. If they do, they win.
Fingerprinting
Here’s a beginner game to help your child learn more about how investigators can gather and analyze fingerprints.
Before you play, have each person press their finger firmly into a piece of clay. These will be your fingerprint models, so set them up where they won’t get disturbed.
Now, give each player a makeup brush and a small container of baby powder. Everyone will also need a roll of clear packing tape, and a pair of disposable gloves.
Send each player to one room of the house to carefully dust for prints. They need to wear the gloves so they don’t leave fingerprints of their own behind.
To dust, put the makeup brush in the baby powder. Then, gently tap it on a surface you want to check for prints. You might try the refrigerator handle, a glass from the sink, or a doorknob.
Look carefully at the powder. Do you see any prints in it? If you do, carefully place the packing tape on top of the print. Peel it up slowly, and hold it up to the light. If you did it correctly, you’ll be able to clearly see the print.
Once everyone has a print on a piece of tape, go back to your fingerprint models. Can you identify the print you found?
Baby wipes can be used to clean up any excess powder once you’re done playing.
Does Your Child Want More Crime-Solving Fun?
If your child enjoyed these games, they’d love Camp CSI from Club SciKidz Dallas. Known for providing top quality Dallas summer camps, Club SciKidz Dallas will help bring science to life for your kids.
At Camp CSI, your child will dive into forensic science. They’ll learn about blood typing, fingerprinting, DNA, and more as they spend a week as a Crime Scene Investigator. Sign up today!