Students solve a ‘murder’ in Entomology 103, and you can too

Dr. Wigglesworth is an internationally known scientist, but could he have killed Elinor Rickardsen? Or could Jeeves, the friendly server, have dispatched the wealthy heiress?

No, it's not a true crime podcast: This is a graded project at Washington State University. Students in Entomology 103 are using forensic entomology techniques to solve the mystery this week for an assignment. Next week, the rest of the WSU community can also participate.

Rae Olsson, a scholarly assistant professor in WSU's entomology department who teaches ENT 103, created the game to provide a hands-on project that shows the real-world impact of science and arthropods.

"This is a science class for non-science majors, so my goal is to show that insects are everywhere and they impact many parts of our lives," Olsson said. "Students are given case notes, medical examiner reports, and witness statements. Then they try to piece together a story of what happened at a dinner party with several guests and one victim."

Olsson came up with the idea after playing forensic board games with friends. They built the experience and used it in class for the first time last year, refining the game this year based on student feedback. They are planning to create a variety of different cases for future offerings of ENT 103, then rotate between different scenes going forward.

"It's not the same exact game as last year, just in case someone has a friend who took the course then," Olsson said.

Correctly guessing the murderer is only worth one point in the final grading. The game is all about critical thinking skills and explaining your conclusions using the information and materials Olsson provides.

"The students don't have to solve the crime with the exact story I lay out," they said. "They just have to build a case and back that up with supporting evidence."

Students have access to primary sources, scientific papers that are foundational in forensic entomology as well as physical evidence at the "crime scene." Clues include leftover food from the dinner party, a menu of what was served, slime (used to represent vomit from the victim), and several different arthropods (insects and other bugs) that can be found at the scene.

Some of the characters in the scene are actual, historical figures in entomology, while others are fictional. The experience offers students a chance to learn about some of the key scientists in the field.

Students take roughly 30 to 60 minutes to complete the assignment on their own time during the week, Olsson said.

"The course tends to have a lot of criminal justice majors and those students especially loved it last year," they said. "One criminal justice student said they wanted to add an entomology component to their major after this unit."

Students must complete the project by Friday, Nov. 7, but Olsson and their teaching assistants are leaving it set up for others to use on Nov. 12 and 13. It's an open crime scene, so prepare to do your best Sherlock Holmes impression and come to Room 358J in the Food Safety, Health, and Nutrition building between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on those days.

Olsson only asks that visitors re-set the scene for the next person or group to try.