Teacher guide · Curious Lab · Medium · about 60 min
🕵️ The Museum Mystery
Pupils practise curiosity and problem solving and confidence through "The Museum Mystery": A long detective case: six suspects, hidden clues, one thief.
Lesson guide
1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🕵️ mission title and read the opening: "The crime scene. Tap everything.". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Sniff the Beagle's line as your prompt: "Great question! Ready to dig one layer deeper? Pick your next mission below."
3. Do · 35 min
Pairs work through the 21 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used curiosity today.
Discussion questions
- What was the hardest choice in "The Museum Mystery", and why?
- Which clue matters MOST — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Rita worked with blue paint. Is that proof, or just a coincidence? Argue it — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Who cut the glass and took the beetle — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Where could you use curiosity outside school this week?
- If you did this again, what would you change?
Adapting it
Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.
Stretch: Set the Challenge tier (1 extra steps) and ask pupils to justify every answer in writing.
Curriculum links
- National Curriculum: Science: working scientifically — asking questions and observing
- National Curriculum: Geography/History: enquiry and using sources
- PSHE: Living in the wider world: media literacy and checking information
Pupil sheet
🕵️ The Museum Mystery
Name: ____________________ Date: __________
1. The crime scene. Tap everything.
Clue — The case: The golden beetle is gone. The glass is cut, not smashed.
Clue — The floor: A trail of blue paint dust leading to the staff door.
Clue — The clock: The alarm was switched off between 14:00 and 14:20.
Clue — The camera: Camera 3 was turned to face the wall — by someone tall enough to reach it.
Clue — The desk: The visitor book has one name crossed out.
2. Interview the suspects.
Clue — Mo, the guide: 'I was leading a school group at 2pm. Thirty kids saw me.'
Clue — Rita, the artist: 'I was restoring the blue mural. Alone. All afternoon.'
Clue — Sam, the cleaner: 'I'm 1m52. I need a ladder to reach anything high.'
Clue — Dev, the guard: 'Only I know the alarm code. I was on my break at 2.'
Clue — Ana, the visitor: 'I left at 1:30 — my ticket was scanned on the way out.'
Clue — Tom, the electrician: 'I was up a ladder near camera 3. Fixing a light.'
3. Which clue matters MOST?
☐ The blue paint dust
☐ The alarm was switched off
☐ The crossed-out name
4. Match each suspect to the evidence that clears them — or doesn't.
Mo → ________________
Ana → ________________
Sam → ________________
Rita → ________________
5. Rita worked with blue paint. Is that proof, or just a coincidence? Argue it.
6. New evidence arrives.
Clue — Lab report: The blue dust is mural paint — only Rita's studio has it.
Clue — Phone records: Dev's break was in the café. The café confirms it.
Clue — The ladder: Tom's ladder was signed out at 13:00 and returned at 15:00.
7. Who cut the glass and took the beetle?
☐ Dev the guard
☐ Rita the artist
☐ Tom the electrician
☐ Sam the cleaner
8. Lay out your case, step by step: motive, opportunity, evidence.
9. Rita says 'anyone could have walked through my studio'. Best reply?
☐ You're lying.
☐ True — so who else signed the studio log that afternoon?
☐ Case closed anyway.
10. Write three questions a good detective still needs answered.
11. Write the two-sentence news headline and summary of the case.
12. Chapter 2. New evidence arrives at the case desk.
Clue — A receipt: Coffee for two, 8:42am, the morning of the theft.
Clue — A logbook: The side door was signed out by staff at 8:30am.
Clue — A photo: Taken at 8:50am — the display case is already empty.
Clue — A witness: "I saw someone in a staff coat carrying a long tube."
13. Build the timeline from your evidence.
___ 8:30 side door opened
___ 8:42 coffee for two
___ 8:50 case already empty
___ 9:15 alarm reported
14. What does the timeline prove?
☐ It happened before opening, with inside help
☐ It happened at lunchtime
☐ Nothing at all
15. Which single piece of evidence is weakest, and why?
16. Match each type of evidence to how much it can be trusted.
CCTV photo → ________________
Witness memory → ________________
Signed logbook → ________________
Rumour → ________________
17. A suspect has an alibi from their best friend. How much weight does it carry?
☐ Some — but check it against other evidence
☐ Total proof
☐ None whatsoever
18. You interview three staff.
Clue — The guard: Nervous, but his shift started at 9am.
Clue — The curator: Very calm. Ordered two coffees that morning.
Clue — The cleaner: Saw a long tube by the bins — it's gone now.
19. Name your prime suspect and lay out your case in order.
20. Before you accuse anyone, what must you do?
☐ Check whether any other explanation fits the evidence
☐ Tell the newspapers
☐ Trust your gut
21. Write the final case report: what happened, how you know, and what you can't prove.