Art and Science of Fingerprints

Since Wednesday morning is our "no math morning", we can really stretch out and do other things. Often, we do a science-related activity, and sometimes we venture more into the arts. This morning, we did both!

First, we learned one way to take our fingerprints. Using the graphite off a regular pencil, we rubbed each finger and lifted the print using tape.

Then we used a stamp pad to take our thumb print. Using a chart and magnifying glass, we determined if our fingerprint was more like a whorl, an arch, or loop. A great home extension would be to take fingerprints of all the family members - do fingerprint types run in families?

We talked about how your fingerprints are part of your identity, as no two fingerprints are exactly alike. Even identical twins have slight variations.

Then we did some fingerprint art. Here are some of the wonderful pieces created this morning. Some children used their own imagination or inspiration from book characters, and some followed the directions from an Ed Emberely book I have.

If the children had time, they were invited to make a disc out of Fimo clay and to make their thumb or finger print in the clay. These will be baked and strung with a string for a fingerprint necklace.