Forensics on the Moon

May 2019: Emergency oxygen tanks on the moon are missing - who's the thief?

Sam Walker, an OPTIMA student from the Davidson lab at CIR, recently participated in a school workshop event at the University of Strathclyde. Secondary school children came to the University and experienced workshops put on by different departments at the University. The event for the chemistry department was set on the moon - emergency oxygen tanks were going missing and they had to use chemistry to discover who the culprit was. Mysterious white powders, blood samples and fingerprints were all clues left at the crime scene. Later on in the event, DNA sample analysis was delivered as a further test to identify the culprit. Two age groups where split into three groups of approximately eight children who either identified the mystery powder from basic chemical reactions, identified the blood type left at the scene, or identified the fingerprint. The children were engaged and a DNA plot twist at the end kept all interested (including the teachers!).