Forensics requirements (Bear)

0:00 · 10 min

Gathering: tallest tower

Give the Scouts who arrive first something to do, so the meeting starts the moment they walk in.

• Put scrap cardboard, painter's tape and two pairs of safety scissors on the gathering table.
• The task on the card: build the tallest thing that stands on its own before the opening.
• Scouts join whichever table has room, so nobody waits alone for the meeting to start.

0:10 · 5 min

Opening

Flag ceremony, Scout Oath and Scout Law. The same five minutes every week, run by the Scouts.

• The denner calls the den to order and leads the flag ceremony.
• Say the Scout Oath and the Scout Law together. New Scouts read from a card and nobody makes anything of it.
• One sentence on tonight's adventure, Forensics, and the one thing everybody will get done.

0:15 · 5 min

Talk time

Den business while everyone is still sitting down, and a look at what is coming.

• The two dates parents need: the next den meeting and the next pack event.
• Ask who already did part of Forensics at home, and write the names down so it gets recorded.
• Take one question from the den. Answer it or say when you will.

0:20 · 12 min

Activity 1: Explore the term "forensics" and how it

Close requirements 1 and 2 of Forensics.

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Explore the term "forensics" and how it is used to help solve crimes".
• Work it in pairs or small groups for most of the block while you move between them.
• Bring the den back together and have each Scout tell you what they did.
• Mark requirement 1 off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember afterwards.
• Then requirement 2: read "Analyze your fingerprints" out loud, work it in pairs, and mark it off as each Scout finishes.

Requirement 1 Requirement 2

0:32 · 12 min

Activity 2: Make a shoe imprint

Close requirements 3 and 4 of Forensics.

• Show a finished example first so every Scout can picture "Make a shoe imprint" before they start.
• Set materials out at two or three tables so nobody stands waiting for the scissors.
• Move table to table while they work and ask each Scout to tell you what they are making and why.
• Give a five minute warning, then have every Scout hold up what they made and say one thing about it.
• Then requirement 4: read "Do an analysis of four different substances: salt, sugar, baking soda and cornstarch" out loud, work it in pairs, and mark it off as each Scout finishes.

Requirement 3 Requirement 4

0:44 · 11 min

Activity 3: Learn about chromatography and how it is

Close requirements 5 and 6 of Forensics.

• Put the answers where the den can find them: three stations, a set of cards, or a chart for "Learn about chromatography and how it is used in solving crimes".
• Give the den five minutes in pairs to work it out, then bring the answers together on one sheet.
• Go round the circle so every Scout says one answer out loud in their own words.
• Then requirement 6: give every Scout a job inside the work so "Find out how officers collect evidence" is something they did rather than watched.

Requirement 5 Requirement 6

0:55 · 5 min

Closing

End on time, and make sure every Scout leaves knowing what they finished.

• Cubmaster's minute: one short thought tied to what the den just did. Sixty seconds, no lecture.
• Read back what got finished tonight, requirement by requirement, so the Scouts hear their own progress.
• Send the den off with the den yell, and catch the parents who need to hear something at pickup.