Everyone has a unique set of fingerprints. Even twins who have the same DNA will have different fingerprints (look at the DNA modelling activity to learn more about DNA). Fingerprints develop before babies are born and form one of three types of pattern, these are whorls, loops and arches.
The first thing that we are going to do is take our own fingerprints. You can download and print this worksheet and you will see that there is space for you to put a fingerprint in each of the boxes. You can put your finger on the ink pad and then lightly press it on the paper so that your fingerprint is transferred across.
You can then repeat this with all of your fingers and thumbs. If you don't have an ink pad you could use pencil dust or cocoa powder to make your finger prints. Once you have taken your finger prints you can have a look at the patterns in your prints. See if you can tell whether your prints have loops, arches or whorls and fill it in on the worksheet
You may like to try and look for fingerprints on surfaces. To do this use a large paintbrush to lightly dust some baby powder onto your surface
You can then use some clear tape to try and pick up a fingerprint
You may like to store these fingerprints by sticking them to a piece of paper in a contrasting colour.
The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page
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