Diablo Highway™ Forensic Science Lab Activity

A forensic science mystery based on an actual crime teaching through Problem Based Learning.

Real-world kit - The Diablo Highway™ real-world kit contains 11 lessons and nine lab activities for middle and high school students based on the double-murder of Hazel Frome and her daughter Nancy in March 1938 on a desert road in Southwest Texas. The activity is problem-based learning that compels the application of science through real-world problem solving and is aligned with grade-appropriate NGSS standards. The Diablo Highway™ real-world Kit includes everything to support a class of 30 students working in groups except microscopes. For grades 7 to 12, community colleges and CTE programs.

The teacher and student booklets included provide lessons and step-by-step procedures for conducting the labs. These booklets also present the story and the characters involved in a graphically rich style. They also include a code to access the online viewer where control samples and evidence can be explored on a computer or tablet. The booklets include the floor plan map of the crime scene, an important tool they will use to solve the case. Here students map where evidence was found and, after it has been analyzed in the lab, determine to whom the evidence belongs.The kit is shipped in a sturdy, clear plastic tote for safe storage and easy access. Each of the lab activities are packed in their own heavy-duty reclosable poly storage bag.

Online virtual activity - The online virtual activity for Diablo Highway™ contains 11 lessons and nine lab activities for middle and high school students based on the infamous unsolved Frome murders in March 1938 on a desert road in Southwest Texas. The activity is problem-based learning (PBL) that compels the application of science and is aligned with grade-appropriate NGSS standards. This is an online activity that students access via a web browser on any device connected to the internet including desktops, laptops, tablets, chromebooks or smartphones.