Kindergartners become crime scene investigators

TACOMA, Wash. -- Like a scene from the popular television show "CSI," students at a Tacoma school recently got a chance to solve their very own whodunit.

When the kids in Mrs. Vanderhoff's class at the Seabury School got back from recess today, they realized that a crime had been committed in their classroom.

All the cookies in the cookie jar had been stolen.

Luckily for the kids, Evergreen State College sociologist Tosca Olson was at the school and was ready to lend her expertise to the investigation.

Olson, who is also a parent, was at the school to teach the kids about crime scene investigation.

After giving them a tutorial on the science of fingerprinting, Olson and the kids got to work dusting the empty jar and examining all the clues they could find.

It was just then that somebody noticed crumbs on Mrs. Vanderhoff's sleeve.

The teacher denied any wrongdoing, but science doesn't lie. After studying the prints, the students discovered that Mrs. Vanderhoff was indeed the culprit.

She soon confessed and was taken to the principal's office, where she was sentenced to bring in a fresh batch of oatmeal cookies.