Budding forensic scientists can head along to the new Scitech exhibit – Whodunit? – to solve the murder mystery at the “Menagerie Park” zoo.
Due to the content, this exhibit it recommended for children 8 years or older and parental guidance is advised. I took my 6 and 4 year olds through the exhibit, and while they weren’t scared by anything they saw, they did get bored pretty quickly.
On entry to “Menagerie Park” we grabbed a crime file andpencil to record our findings and try to figure out “Whodunit?”.
The first stop – the crime scene! A security guard has beenshot dead and the zoo’s White Rhino has been stolen! There are lots of individual investigationstations using real forensic science, to help piece together all the evidencefrom the crime scene.
We looked at several pieces of glass found on the suspectsto see if they matched a shard of glass from the crime scene, by using lightrefraction.
We made up an identikit of the suspect using a witness’description. This involved choosing different eyes, nose, mouth etc on acomputer to come up with a picture that matched the description.
We visually matched a poo sample from the crime scene withthe animal that made it.
There were lots of other experiences to do to help solve thecrime including: Matching tyre tracks, using fluorescent lights to find clues,comparing hand writing on a ransom note, matching bullets and more.
I really enjoyed the exhibit, but it didn’t capture theattention of my young kids, so definitely recommend it for older kids.
Scitech is currently undergoing some renovations to theentry and exit, so Discovery Land (aimed at younger kids) has been greatlyreduced while the work is taking place.
More information: www.scitech.org.au
Review by Kids Around Perth Reporter Candice, 4th June 2017
Candice Kocken – Kids Around Perth South of the River, Hills & Events Reporter / Mum of 3 kids. Candice is a Mum of 3 who loves cooking, sewing and taking her kids out to explore our beautiful state of WA. Follow Candice and her adventures @uncannymum on Instagram.
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