Fingerprinting can be a fun science activity for people of all ages. We provide these generalizations as guidelines about what children at different ages might do during Fingerprint explorations at the Discovery Center’s Experiment Station, in the kitchen at home, or at school. Listed below are science and technology process skills that children may be practicing during their explorations. Please remember: each child develops at a different rate, so some children in each age group may be able to do some of the things described in the age group before or after their own.
Infants' hands and fingers are quite small, and it can be difficult to take a detailed fingerprint from children this age.
However, as many grown-ups know, infants completely enjoy making hand prints! If you will be doing in the Fingerprint Detectives activity with a group of mixed-age kids, we suggest having finger-paints (or tempra paints) on hand, as well as the charcoal that will be used by older kids, so that younger children (including infants) can make and explore their own hand-prints, with the help of a grown-up.
Exploring and comparing footprints can also be a fun activity to do with infants.
Note for grown-ups: Forensic scientists do sometimes have to identify babies, and they do this based on prints that are taken from the feet and hands shortly after birth. The lines and pattens on the foot and toes are unique to an individual, just like fingerprints are!