Candy Detective Mystery

What you need

• Clear cups, 1 drinking glass
• Paper, white paper, 1 sheet per suspect plus 1
• Flour, a small amount
• Plate or tray, 1 tray
• Towel, 1, or an old sheet
• Cocoa powder, 2 tbsp
• Bowl, 2 (1 small for cocoa, 1 for candy)
• Soft brush, 1
• Pencil, 1
• Clear tape, 1 roll
• Index cards, 1 per suspect
• Wrapped candy, a bowlful
• Damp cloth, 1

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Pick one family member to be the secret culprit (a grown-up works well). Lay out the supplies on a wiped table and put a towel under the flour tray, since flour and cocoa can be slippery. Use wrapped candy that suits every age.

1. Detectives close their eyes while the culprit empties the bowl and hides the candy.
2. The culprit leaves a fingerprint on the glass and a footprint in the flour.
3. Every suspect writes a short alibi on an index card.
4. Dust the glass with cocoa powder using the soft brush.
5. Press clear tape on the dusty print, peel it off and stick it on white paper.
6. Collect a fingertip print from every suspect, so you can compare them.
7. Compare the glass print with the suspect prints to find a match.
8. Interview the suspects, check the alibis, then name the culprit.
9. Swap roles and solve a new case! Who will be the sneakiest culprit next?

Play it again

• Double culprits: two people leave prints, so detectives must find both matches.
• Timed case: solve the mystery before a sand timer runs out.
• Mystery notes: the culprit leaves a rhyming clue near the candy.