Project Ideas: Fingerprinting

Materials include standard stamp pad ink refill tubes, rectangular or square cuts of Plexiglas or rubberized placemats, a standard ink roller that looks like a mini paint roller brush, oil-based soap such as the type mechanics use after working on cars, poster board paper cut out into 8 x 11 sheets, fingerprint card templates, and paper towels.

Participants draw a template on the 8 x 11 sheet of poster paper using fingerprint card templates as a model. The project leader will model how to spread a thin film of ink on the Plexiglas or rubber placemat cutouts and then press their fingertips in the ink and then roll their fingers from side to side onto the 8 x 11 sheets of paper in the previously drawn template. Care must be taken when using the oil-based soap, as it can fade some clothing, especially dark colors.

Next, participants then bring either a parent or a sibling, using the same procedure above; record their fingerprints on blank cards. The participants demonstrate their understanding of the process by explaining to family members what is happening. Cards will then be compared to see if there are any similarities between both parents and children, or between the siblings. The similarities they would look for are the presence and locations of the whorls, loops, arches that comprise fingerprint characteristics.

The project leader can create a report to be presented at the time of their science fair showing the results obtained. Included in the report should be a statement expressing whether or not fingerprints can be genetically passed on, or if siblings can share the same fingerprints with each other and not their parents.

A magnifying glass should be present for observers to get a closer look at the fingerprint patterns to determine if there are any similarities between different samples. Another variation can include a palm print to see if palm patterns show any similarities between family members.