More than 50 elementary and middle school students used the skills they learned at the Blinn College – Schulenburg campus Kids College to help local authorities solve a baffling mystery at the week-long program.
Students from Hallettsville, Schulenburg, La Grange, Flatonia, Weimar, Columbus, Cy-Fair and even Arizona attended the sixth annual Kids College, where they learned science, math, technology and leadership skills through hands-on activities.
This year’s theme was CSI: Kids College. On the first day, Justice of the Peace Dan Mueller as well as representatives from the Blinn and Schulenburg police departments, Fayette County Sherriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers asked for the students’ help in solving the case of a skeleton stolen from the campus science lab in 1970.
Throughout the rest of the week, students analyzed evidence, interviewed suspects, read diary entries and newspaper articles from the time of the crime and established timelines.
Blinn College and SWIFT (Schulenburg Weimar In Focus Together) AmeriCorps partnered to host the annual program, which provides a fun, hands-on summer learning environment. SWIFT is a community-based non-profit organization improving the quality of life in the community by providing educational assistance and working with youths.
Carol Kana with the Bishop Forest Alumni Association helped gather items for the fake time capsule used to help solve the mystery. The alumni association is asking for the community’s help in identifying where real time capsules buried throughout Bishop Forest’s tenure on the property are located. Any former students or community members with information are asked to call Kana at 979-263-5654.
In conjunction with this year’s Kids College, Blinn introduced a parents camp called “Getting Savvy With Technology” that taught parents and caregivers about cyber safety, navigating their child’s school website and using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
