NCIS brings fingerprinting science to life for third grade
SASEBO, Japan – When two Navy Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) special agents appeared during a third grade science class at Sasebo Elementary School, no one was arrested – but many students were fingerprinted!
In a memorable collaborative effort, NCIS special agents from Sasebo Naval Base volunteered their time to demonstrate fingerprinting and forensic analysis techniques to curious young scientists. The visit connected classroom learning to real-world applications, transforming a science lesson into an unforgettable hands-on experience.
At the time, third grade teachers Marc Farrell and Chelsea Voor were teaching a unit on DNA, inherited traits, and fingerprint patterns. Students had already begun exploring fingerprints using graphite dust and tape to identify common patterns – loops, whorls, and arches – when an unexpected real-world connection emerged. One student, Isla Smith, excitedly shared that her father worked in fingerprint analysis.
That connection quickly became a collaboration. Isla’s mother, Sabrina Smith, a fourth/fifth grade teacher at Sasebo Elementary School, helped facilitate contact with Isla’s father, NCIS Special Agent Joshua Smith. Soon after, Special Agent Smith and fellow NCIS Special Agent Greg Reid arrived with a table full of professional forensic equipment, ready to bring science to life.
Serving as a junior investigator, Isla partnered with her father to demonstrate how different fingerprint dusting techniques reveal the unique ridge patterns that form before birth and remain unchanged throughout a person’s life. Students eagerly rotated through hands-on stations, coating their fingertips with red plaster to create fingerprint impressions, examining prints under microscopes, and dusting tables and electronic screens to reveal oily residues left behind.
As students pressed, observed, compared, and recorded, science leapt off the textbook pages. The lesson engaged multiple senses while reinforcing critical scientific concepts. Students observed natural patterns, explored inherited traits, and collected and analyzed real data – key components of third grade science learning.
The unit concluded with students comparing their own fingerprint data to baseline pattern data and diagramming their results. Through this process, students practiced scientific reasoning, learned how scientists analyze evidence, and gained insight into how science connects to future careers.
By partnering with NCIS, the classroom experience became more than a lesson – it became an authentic investigation that sparked curiosity, deepened understanding, and inspired young learners to see themselves as scientists.
