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You are here: Home / By Age / Elementary / Exploring Fingerprints (Science for Kids)

May 31, 2013 By Chelsey 15 Comments

Exploring Fingerprints (Science for Kids)

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fingerprint collage

Welcome to another Science Invitation Saturday where we explore science for kids! Last week we played with bubbles and even made our own bubble wand and bubble solution. This week are going to explore fingerprints!

 

Materials:

  • ink pad
  • paper
  • magnifying glass (optional)
  • fingerprint record sheet 
Screen Shot 2013-05-30 at 3.31.15 PM

Fingerprint Record Printable

 

Procedure:

Everyone’s fingerprints are different. Let’s see what your fingerprints look like!

  1. Press one of your fingers onto an ink pad. 
  2. Gently and slowly roll your finger onto your fingerprint record sheet or a blank piece of paper.
  3. Make a print of each finger. 
  4. Compare your prints. What is similar about your prints? What is different? (Optional: Use a magnifying glass to make the comparisons).

 

IMG_1239

Lucy’s Comments: “I see lots of hills and swirls.” “How many lines are on our fingers, Mom?” “What do yours look like, Mom?”

 

Tips:

– Our ink was coming out very dark in the prints. What worked for us was to press our finger in the ink, then press it once on scrap paper to get of excess ink, and THEN make our print to keep on our record sheet. 

– This is a messy activity. Have your sink ready for hand washing!

 

Question to Spark More Curiosity & Critical Thinking:

What patterns do you notice in your prints? Do your prints look similar to your family’s prints?

What are any benefits you can think of to everyone having different fingerprints?

 IMG_1245

 

Want to go even further?

Even more activities to inspire creativity and critical thinking for various ages: 

    • Fingerprint patterns are divided into different groups. With a parent, search online or in a book to discover what group your fingerprints fall into. Compare the results to that of other family members for friends.
    • Make a fingerprint using the ink pad onto a deflated balloon. Wait for it to dry. Then blow up the balloon until you can see your fingerprint in more detail!
    • Collect a fingerprint record of everyone in your family. Then, without you seeing, have one person leave a fingerprint on some paper. Try to figure out whose fingerprint it is by comparing it to your fingerprint record.
    • Turn your fingerprints into art! We put our fingerprints on blank paper. Then we used colored pencils to add details.

 

our fingerprint drawings

 

 

 

Don’t forget to join the Buggy and Buddy community on Facebook where there’s even more ideas for creating and learning!

 

 
 

 

 

Fizz, Pop, Bang! 40 Playful Science and Math Activities for Kids

Filed Under: Elementary, Printables, Science, Science Invitations Tagged With: fingerprints, free printable, science for kids

« Bubble Science (Plus~ Make Your Own Bubble Solution and Bubble Blower)
Watercolor Spin Art »

Comments

  1. Julie says

    June 2, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    I’ve been thinking about doing a finger print activity to go with our human body unit. It looks like your kids enjoyed this activity.

    I was recently at my friends house and she had huge fingerprint pictures hanging on her refrigerator. She enlarged the kids fingerprints and then they colored them with oil pastels. They looked really cool.

    Reply
    • Chelsey says

      June 18, 2013 at 12:19 am

      I am just in love with that idea, Julie!!! How fun would that be! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
  2. Lula B @ www.navigatingbyjoy.com says

    June 2, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    Lovely activity! We looked at fingerprints last year – lots of fun. I love the idea of making them into art – so cute. Lucinda

    Reply
    • Chelsey says

      June 18, 2013 at 12:19 am

      Thank you so much, Lula!

      Reply
  3. Kimberly Scanlon says

    June 4, 2013 at 4:49 am

    This is such a cute idea!! I can’t wait to try it with some of my clients. I’m a speech therapist and this activity would be great to target expressive language (comparing, contrasting, expansions…). Thanks for sharing!
    Kim

    Reply
    • Chelsey says

      June 18, 2013 at 12:17 am

      Thank you, Kimberly! I love that idea~ hope you find the activity useful!

      Reply
  4. Ann @ My Nearest and Dearest says

    June 4, 2013 at 5:55 pm

    Just today we were looking at the prints our fingers made in modeling clay. Thanks for sharing such great ways to learn about and have fun with finger prints. We’ll have to give some of these a try. šŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Chelsey says

      June 18, 2013 at 12:16 am

      Oh, how fun, Ann! That’s a great idea!

      Reply
  5. Leann | The Hands-On Homeschooler says

    June 12, 2013 at 7:10 pm

    Oh, this looks like a lot of fun. I love the idea of fingerprinting on a balloon and then blowing it up to see the details. Thanks for linking up to the Hearts for Home bloghop. I’m featuring you over at The Hands-On Homeschooler.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hearts for Home Blog Hop #21 | Look! We're Learning! says:
    June 13, 2013 at 3:36 am

    […] Exploring Fingerprints (Science for Kids) – Buggy and […]

    Reply
  2. Hearts for Home bloghop #21 - The Hands-On Homeschooler says:
    June 13, 2013 at 7:07 am

    […] Exploring Fingerprints from Buggy and Buddy […]

    Reply
  3. Hearts for Home Blog Hop #20 | Look! We're Learning! says:
    June 16, 2013 at 3:17 pm

    […] Exploring Fingerprints (Science for Kids) – Buggy and […]

    Reply
  4. Science for Kids: Make a Penny Turn Green (with free printable) - Buggy and Buddy says:
    June 28, 2013 at 6:42 pm

    […] to anotherĀ Science Invitation Saturday! Last Science Saturday we had fun with Exploring Fingerprints! This time we’re going to make pennies turn […]

    Reply
  5. Science Sunday: Happy Father’s Day | Adventures in MommydomAdventures in Mommydom says:
    January 4, 2014 at 1:00 pm

    […] buggyandbuddy.com via Ticia on […]

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  6. Science Sunday: Anatomy ideas, even more | Adventures in MommydomAdventures in Mommydom says:
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    […] Fingerprinting unit […]

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Welcome to Buggy and Buddy! I'm Chelsey, a former teacher and parent living on the central coast of California. I love sharing crafts, science, STEM and STEAM activities, free printables and more! Read More…

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