Operation Raptor Rescue

In Operation Raptor Rescue you can investigate a fictional wildlife crime. A local sparrowhawk has disappeared, and the police suspect that humans are involved. The activities are suitable for primary aged groups in P6-7 and Secondary aged groups in S1-3.

All of the resources needed to carry out these activities in school or at home are available to download for free.

Students are challenged to analyse a range of forensic evidence to aid the police in solving the case. Over the course of this operation students will learn:

• How to take notes like a forensic scientist
• How evidence is found and handled at a crime scene
• What fingerprints are and how they are used to identify criminals
• How birds of prey can be tracked using GPS tags and bird song
• How digital evidence can be used by investigators to track criminals

The activity takes around 2hrs in total but for classrooms we recommend splitting the investigation into different weeks e.g.

• Introduction and tracking activities (Session 1)
• Crime scene investigation (Session 2)
• Fingermark and code-cracking activity (Session 3) 

With funding from Maths Week Scotland 2025 the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) have created a set of activities suitable for students in first and second year of high school. The activities have contributions from:

• University of Dundee Botanic Gardens
• RSPB Scotland
• The Clarus Project
• University of Dundee School of Mathematics

If you have any inquiries regarding these activities, contact the LRCFS team [email protected]