Problem Solving at its Finest

  It gets harder each day to make sure our 4-H Biotech Day Campers have a new experience that we hope they will never forget, and along the way they just happen to learn something while having fun.  This morning we worked on our team building skills playing games like rock paper scissors (on steroids) and human bowling.  Once our counterparts from Hoke and Bladen Counties joined us we had a special guest to join us, Detective Kevin Graham from the Robeson county Sheriff's Office.  Detective Graham talked with our group about forensics, processing crime scenes, and his experiences in law enforcement.

   After a quick snack we were up and working on our problem solving skills.  Playing games that made us find a way to pass a hula hoop around a circle without using our hands, finding ways to lower a hula hoop without tipping it, using only the pads of our fingers, and other such fun that illicted smiles, and laughter to fill the entire auditorium.  It was a great morning of learning and fun.

  We took a brief break to eat (we do that a lot in a case you haven't noticed) lunch.  On today's menu, pizza, corn, and fresh watermelon.  It was a great time to sit down and share a meal with our new friends.  After lunch it was time to get down to some serious business.

  We were informed that a crime had been committed on the patio of a two bedroom, one bathroom home near the beach.  We all traveled to the crime science (out back of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Office) and had five minutes to observe everything.  When we came back in we had to write down everything we noticed.  When we went back out our eight groups were assigned sections of the crime scene to process.  We drew sketches of our grids and collected what was the before heading back in to process our evidence.

  When we got inside our chief gave us some more information that had been collected.  Our victims body, which officers said did not have an signs of trauma or blood disappeared on the way to this morgue.  There is a rumor that the victim is not dead, and has been seen at a nearby gas station but that had not been confirmed.  We were given case files with suspects, their statements, footprints, and fingerprints.  It turns out our victim was not nice yet very rich and all of our suspects were not only with him when the incident occurred but also mentioned in his will.  Armed with this information and the evidence collected it was up to our day campers to tell us what happened.

  A our campers got up at the end of the day and delivered their scenarios, everyone had a different idea and story on how it happened, who did it, and if our victim was alive or dead.  It was a great day as they demonstrated critical thinking skills.  At the end of the day we celebrated our hard work with a snack and the. Our visiting counties headed home.  

  One more day left of 4-H Biotech day camp....what will happen tomorrow???  Hmmmmm....the answer smells a little fishy.