2023 Finalist: Hands-On Science Book

Forensics for Kids: The Science and History of Crime Solving, With 21 Activities, by Melissa Ross. Chicago Review Press, 2022.

What kind of science does it take to solve a crime? Forensics for Kids provides the complete history of forensic science, giving readers a comprehensive understanding of the crime-solving advancements that led to modern forensics. Author Melissa Ross reveals fascinating stories, famous cases, pioneers who led the way, and what forensics might look like in the future. Twenty-one engaging activities offer readers hands-on experiences with modern forensic methods.

Kids will:

• Collect and compare fingerprints

• Use chromatography to investigate a writing sample

• Match hair samples with volunteer “suspects”

• Recreate a face with clay on a small plastic skull

• Make a plaster cast of a shoeprint and compare it to a shoe print database

• And much more!

Kids can become the next real-life Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew after exploring the science of forensics.