Students ignite creativity with fiery final project, blending art and science

Ms. Green's final project assignment for her forensic science class was anything but ordinary. For the last few weeks, the students have been working through the unit on arson, and completed the unit with a unique project. Each group of students was asked to build a structure and create a story about how their fire started. The structures, mostly houses and apartment buildings, were very detailed including windows, furniture, cars, and even "people" made of pipe cleaners. Today, in partnership with the Pocatello Fire Department, the students ventured outside to light their structures on fire. The students chose where in their structure to start the fire, and observed the structure as it burned. Once they were satisfied with their burn, the firefighters extinguished the fire. The students were tasked with taking before, during, and after photos of their structure, and a classroom discussion followed. Vincent, a student, said that making the origami characters and furniture was the hardest part of the project, only to see it burn down in a matter of seconds. He was happy with the overall outcome of his project, stating that, "everything worked out the way it was supposed to." The firefighters chimed in on student's conversations during the burn, commenting on the placement of windows, the location of the fire, and building materials. Kevin, a senior, was visiting with the the firefighters and learned that older houses tend to last longer in a fire than newer houses, due to the increased amount of plastic in the building materials. Israel, also a senior, stated that his favorite part was watching everything burn, and when asked what the hardest part of the project was he paused and replied with a giggle, "watching everything burn!"