How to play MuM : text version

Video 1: A brief overview of Murder under the Microscope

Zahara Hilton: An innocent victim has been struck down in the environment by forces unknown.

DR AJ: I’m talking about Amegilla cingulata, our very own Blue Banded Native Bee whose death was the subject of our 2009 investigation.

Zahara Hilton: Now your job as investigators is to solve the crime by naming the victim, villain and crime site, and to provide a plan to stop that crime from happening again.

Danno: We’re a small group dedicated to fighting environmental crime.

Peter Mbanger: .. after all they do for us and so skilled! The way they communicate to each other about food, you know …

Danno: Actually …

Peter Mbanger: Bzzzzzz … a jiggle here, a tap there …

Raju: This year we had 26,000 students put their fine, young, sharp minds to solve an environmental mystery.

Camilla: Danno, I just heard. What a tragic sequence of events. I mean, I had no idea.

Danno: Oh, I think you did!

Leslie Loble: The first team to submit a correct accusation did it in just 14 seconds!

Camilla: It was just an insect!

Danno: All gone!

Leslie Loble: It’s just been a fantastic achievement once again.

DR Barbra Holland: And so our winners for 2009 in the Creativity Award category are 4/5B from Parramatta East Public School.

Children: Singing

Video 2: Getting started

Zahara Hilton: Hi there, I'm Zahara Hilton, case coordinator.

Student: It's a bit like Cluedo, because you have to figure out the victim, the villain, the issue and the crimesite.

Student: Yeah, it's just like one big puzzle and you just have to put the pieces together slowly.

Caller: Listen, there's been a murder.

Daniel Bookham: What's wrong? You sure?

Caller: What do you want son - a body bag?

Music

Zahara: Okay, listen up people.

At 4am this morning a caller reported a murder in one of our New South Wales wetlands.

Sadly the victim is one of those we listed as vulnerable.

John Sauer: 'Murder Under the Microscope' is an ecological mystery game where there is a victim, that's some animal species that has been wiped out.

There is a villain - that means some factor is wiping it out.

It could be a human factor, it could be a natural factor.

Cheryl Donaldson: An eco-crime has been committed somewhere in an area of Australia which we are then

given as the program runs, 10 crimesites that the children need to research.

John: The aim of the game for the students is to identify the victim, identify the villain and identify the crimesite, and as an extension of that they can also come up

with a catchment management plan to alleviate the problem so that the victim is safe from further abuse.

Student: It's good that they've made it look like a murder and so you've got your victim and your villain

and, you know, the reason that this is happening and everything like that so, yeah, it's pretty good.

Cheryl: As we go through the program we eliminate some victims that we don't feel are suitable as the clues come.

Music

Zahara: Any sign of a body.

Daniel: No.

Zahara: Any hum of a yammy?

Daniel: No.

Zahara: Any dirty smoke?

Daniel: No.

Zahara: Any changes in the weather?

Daniel: Zar, I just got here.

The assistant manager can't recall seeing the victim this year but the dude was shy.

Zahara: And wetland dependent.

Daniel: Totally.

Sally Haigh: If you've never done 'Murder Under the Microscope' before, it's easy to see it as just, well maybe

a slightly gimmicky science investigation program, but it's much more than that.

The understandings that the children achieve through their intensive study of these environmental crimes

ensures that they're actually achieving some deep understandings and some deep knowledge in this particular content area of science.

Gai Collett: It fits really well with where I see education in that it's children working together to solve a problem;

it's using technology and of course it involves literacy and numeracy; and it's about the world, it's about solving

problems that are relevant and real and that are about, you know, keeping our world sustainable.

John: I took on 'Murder Under the Microscope' because we're doing ecology in Year 8 and this school is not well

set up for doing any experimental work on ecology.

We don't have a good ecological area; we don't have access to a creek.

So I thought this would be a really good activity to get the kids engaged in actual hands-on stuff via the computer.

Sally: So if you look specifically at the science syllabus, 'Murder Under the Microscope' covers pretty well all of

the content strands and also most of the learning processes as well, too.

So the design of the program enables the kids to get a really thorough grounding in scientific processes and investigations.

John: You can use 'Murder Under the Microscope' to cover the entire ecology topic from the syllabus.

And in future I will probably base that particular topic around 'Murder Under the Microscope' because you can

use that for food chains, food webs, human impact on ecosystems, the role of photosynthesis and respiration and decomposers, how they're all related.

And this can be done through 'Murder Under the Microscope'.

Just by using the 'Murder Under the Microscope' website and a bit of in-class time and your own resources you

could put this together into a topic which I think the kids would really enjoy.

You don't need to be an expert on the 'Murder Under the Microscope' or on the website.

In fact you don't even have to have done it before.

Sally: When the students go onto the website, there's different entry modes.

You can go in either as dial-up HTML or through Broadband, and if you go in through the Broadband then

you've got access to on-line videos, and I notice that when we go up to the lab, that is, the first thing that the

kids want to do is they click on the on-line videos for the day.

There are three experts who provide rather cryptic clues, I think, about what their investigations are all about.

Student: There's three characters on the website and ...

Student: Zahara Hilton, Daniel Bookham and Mina ...

Student: Yeah, Mina someone. And they're scientists.

Music

Zahara: Hey guys, more info - this time the names of 15 possible victims, all of them highly valued members of our ecosystem.

Check out the victims area and do the research.

Remember the big five - description, distribution, diet, habitat, breeding - DDDHB.

I'll leave you to it.

Music

Daniel: Hi, Daniel Bookham, crimesite investigator.

Yeah, I just heard the news I'm going to be on the wetlands case next.

Dr Mina Myndbenda: Well, you certainly took your time, but here at last, so a very big hello investigators.

I'm Dr Mina Myndbenda, forensic scientist.

Sally: There's also like a message board where there's transcripts of messages that have been posted and the

kids like to listen to that or read that as well, too.

So I think that the way the website is designed, it allows different entry points for kids.

The fact that it's multi-media means that most of the kids are really engaged with what they're doing in any case.

It really sort of hits the mark with this age group of kids.

They find it easy to use and they enjoy the interaction with the website.

Student: It's fun to go on the website like every day and just like see what's new in clues and the new videos and interviews and things.

Student: Yeah.

John: This particular case is based on 10 wetland locations in eastern Australia.

They're all in New South Wales.

Most of them are coastal but there's a couple of inland ones.

Now in one of these wetland locations, there has been, some species has been threatened or become extinct.

Zahara: Now as to the villains, we've put together a list of possibles and you can check them in the villains area.

They're truly an ugly bunch and their effect on the wetland can be scary, so research it well guys because

in three weeks you'll have 24 hours to give us the victim, the crimesite and the villain in the murder.

Okay, this is day one of our investigation.

Good luck everybody.

Video 3: The investigation

Captions:

Music

Zahara Hilton: Hey guys, I'm glad you dropped by because if you haven't done so already, now's the time

to work out where to place your accusations.

Well, it won't be live 'til the final day but at that stage every second counts.

Sally Haigh: We're at the point where, well, some kids think that we're ready to start eliminating some of

the crimesites based on the clues that we've received so far.

Student: We're pretty sure on the crimesite.

I think we've got it down to basically two.

Student: We were given a sheet that had victims, villains and crimesites on it and we had to cross off what

we thought that didn't fit into the descriptions and clues.

Cheryl Donaldson: The children went into groups of three and were each given one of the 10 issues to research and study on one of those worksheets provided.

Sally: Okay, so when each group gets their worksheet, I'd like you to go through and eliminate as many

crimesites, as many victims and as many villains as you can.

Student: What did we think about Hexham Swamp?

Student: Hexham Swamp, no it's out.

Student: We should leave it because it is possible.

Student: Okay, put a question mark next to it.

Sally: Hand up if you've got something to say about either Clarence Broadwater or Hexham Swamp that's going to be helpful.

Student: Well Clarence Broadwater has a lot of birds and fish so I think we could eliminate that.

Sally: On what basis?

Student: Well there are birds and fish and the crimesite flora and fauna report says no fish and no birds.

Sally: Okay, all right.

Student: Well I think that there is an exceedingly high chance that it is Porters Creek because every single thing fits into that one wetland.

Sally: All right, so we think we've got it down to four crimesites now so - Porters Creek; hand up if you're happy with Porters Creek as our crimesite.

Good. Hands down.

Okay, put a circle round that one.

Student: We think it's Porters Creek wetland because the rainfall or the climate statistics match up and

it has some of the victims and all the others we've eliminated because of their climate statistics or their animals or something.

Cheryl: We've got lots of things on our wall, lots of bits of paper with lots of crossing out and rough notes from the children.

Student: ... It would say if it had a school or a golf course or a caravan park or anything like that ...

Student: So it's either Porters Creek wetland, Crystal Waters Lagoon, Clarence Broadwater and Hexham Swamp.

Music

Daniel Bookham: Unexpectedly Councillor Terry Pleaser has joined me.

Councillor Terry Pleaser: It's all over town.

Everybody knows that yet another native species is gone, everybody.

Student: Sometimes what they say is useful but also what's in the background, like once they were on a beach

and that helped because we figured out that the crimesite must be near a beach.

Cheryl: The reason we're doing some science experiments with the children is so that they can mainly

learn about the issues that are involved with 'Murder Under the Microscope'.

Some of the science experiments they've done is they've worked in groups and they've been given a task to find

out how the turbidity of the water will affect the temperature so the children have been mixing mud and

water into containers, taking them out into the playground, measuring the temperature, seeing if it's different within the two containers.

These experiments show how the issue they are studying can affect a particular catchment area.

Student: We're trying to see if, yeah, if it will affect the temperature because if it does then ...

Student: ... it might affect the food chain ...

Student: ... it could kill other animals ...

Student: Fish might die if the water gets too hot or they might go somewhere else and that could be a loss of food source for other animals.

Student: So if we're lucky then we might be able to find out which crimesite this relates to.

Student: If it was a river or swamp, runoff could run into it and make the water turbid or land use and erosion could happen.

Student: We put x amount of dirt in and then in another we put a bit less dirt in and then one we didn't

put any dirt in, just to well, signal different amounts of turbidity and, yes that was the experiment.

We've since then found out that the turbidity level is 200 NTUs.

I can't remember what NTU stands for but it's a level of turbidity and a healthy turbidity level is only

7 NTUs so that means the water is incredibly, immensely turbid.

Music

Terry: This thing is very delicate.

Daniel Bookham: Murder is hardly delicate.

Terry: It's the people, mate.

The people are going to be really upset.

Daniel: Are they all nature lovers around here?

Terry: What? Oh no, no.

Well yes, yes, but no.

The victim was to be our local emblem ...

John Sauer: There are hints in these video feeds so you need to watch them, listen to the locations and

that will give you clues about the victim, about the crime scene and about the villain.

Music

Golfer: Well water we have.

Daniel: From where?

Golfer: Five 50 megalitre underground water tanks.

One for every two holes plus a bit to spare.

Daniel: Gee.

Golfer: Plus all the grey water.

Daniel: Good.

Golfer: Plus all the water we can siphon from the wetlands.

Golfer: It's a joke.

Daniel: Yeah, no, I know.

It was good.

Golfer: Yeah.

Daniel: I'm going to get that later.

Student: Well on the interviews it says there's a golf course near it and stuff and, well, we looked on

Google Earth to try and find those things and there wasn't near the Crystal Waters and then they released

the map just today which just like confirms it.

Student: Are your victims still on the list? What was your victim?

Student: Mine was Barramundi and we've crossed that off because through the clues we've found out that

it's endangered and the Barramundi isn't threatened; and also that it's local and the Barramundi is imported into New South Wales.

Student: Mine's the black Bittern.

A lot of people in the class think it could be it.

Student: We think it's the Black Bittern because it is a group bird and we thought it was one of either two birds.

It was either the White-Breasted Sea Eagle or the Black Bittern.

Music

Celeste Fitzwallia: Don't play young and innocent with me.

I saw you talking to the caretaker.

We took every step we could - doctors, extended sick leave, rearranged rosters ...

Daniel: ... I think this is a ...

Celeste: So let those bureaucratic wolves gnaw on that.

Daniel: Yoghurt.

Celeste: What?

Daniel: A simple misunderstanding.

Celeste: What?

Daniel: I'm investigating the wetland as well and ...

Celeste: Pull the other one.

Daniel: No, no, really I ...

Celeste: You think we're all stupid.

The wetland has never looked better.

John: In this particular case, obviously with what's going on in the Australian environment I've got a clue,

I've got an idea about what the villain may be.

Student: We think the villain is fertiliser because on the map it shows that the river of the lagoon runs

through the golf course and a camping ground and the schools and so it could be getting some type of like fertiliser or something like that.

Student: Well land clearing is a seriously possible option.

I don't think it would be rubbish or dredging or sewerage I think was the other one because in one of the

conversations they said the crimesite had never looked better so it couldn't be something that made it look worse.

Student: On the golf course like you might use herbicides and things on that and then that runs down

the creek into the lagoons and that causes high phosphates and nitrates in the water which makes it toxic.

Student: We thought that it was Crystal Waters Lagoon but we weren't sure about Clarence Broadwater.

We crossed off all the victims except the Black Bittern so that's what we think it is and we think for the

villain that it's either water usage or land clearing.

I don't think we can narrow it down any more.

Sally: I'm panicking a little bit that we haven't quite got enough information yet for to make our accusation

but I feel sure that we will, you know, be able to get to that point by the deadline.

Student: We've seen a video of Daniel Bookham interviewing a councillor and there are quite a few clues in that.

Student: Yeah, and then there's another interview with him and Joshua someone who's a like a developer of the crimesite.

Music

Developer: It's going to look absolutely sensational.

Daniel: Yeah, it sounds great.

Developer: And here, an Acacia grove with three different avenues of Lomandra which links to a Grevillea garden which then flows onto the pool.

Daniel: And the pool itself?

Developer: Yeah, I'm going for Sacred Lotus, some Cana, some Taro, some Kamangi, and then some really lush plants.

It's just going to drip rainforest.

Student: This guy, when he started talking about the native rainforest he was going to plant ...

John: Yeah, which wasn't native.

Student: He starts dialing it back to the lab so that means it's really important.

Because he talks about, like, the plant is on steroids, so it could be a clue that maybe something is on steroids.

John: Ah, plants on steroids.

Developer: ... No, tropical, it's like my first gig ...

Student: So it must be fertiliser.

Student: See? On steroids.

John: 'The free-floating fern just' - free-floating fern! Ah!

Student: You got something? See ...

John: Can somebody please, anybody need a job to do at the moment?

Student: Yeah.

John: Can you look up Salvinia please?

Find out what type of plant it is.

Student: Sir, it says that it's aquatic weed that chokes up waterways.

John: What type of plant is it?

Student: A weed.

Student: It's a weed.

Student: We think we've found out who our actual victim, villains and crimesite is.

Music

Zahara: Guys, Danno's turned in a blinder.

Check him out, and get that accusation in.

Well, up to you of course but I think it's pretty clear now.

Video 4: Mystery solved

Zahara Hilton: For those of you who've been on another planet for the last three weeks, tomorrow is D-Day.

Accusations can be made from 10 am.

Check in early, check in often.

It's going to be a huge day.

Student: Well, it's been going well.

We've found the crimesite and we're pretty sure we've got the victim and the villain.

Sally Haigh: Has anyone got down that far or you've still got a lot of villains that you've left, haven't eliminated yet?

Student: We've got land clearing, rubbish, Salvinia, sewerage and water usage.

Student: It's one of the men who come from Crystal Waters and he's putting plants in this pool.

John Sauer: In the last interview with Daniel Bookham, what was the developer talking about he's done to the pool?

Student: He put a plant in there ... Salvinia! ...

John: Yeah, and what did he say about the Salvinia?

It's like it was on -

Students: Steroids!

Student: So we thought that was pretty important because if it's on steroids and it was growing all over

the pool then to kill it you'd have to use a pesticide.

Music

Daniel Bookham: Guys, I have Celeste Fitzwallia with me, the school principal.

Celeste Fitzwallia: Hi investigators.

Big day!

So, Danny, tell us, who did it?

Daniel Bookham: Let's say it was a joint effort.

Celeste: And did the ring-leader's name start with a 'P'?

Pleaser?

Although I did notice that greed wasn't mentioned as a possible villain.

We can always fix that up next year.

Daniel: Let's talk about the frog pond.

Celeste: Oh, no apology necessary, already accepted.

I am much more interested in the accusation.

Daniel: You drained the pond into the wetland.

Celeste: Well, it was a health hazard.

Daniel: When you drained the frog pond, pieces of pool plant flowed into the wetland.

Celeste: They could have.

They are water plants.

Daniel: You recognise this list?

One of these plants can regrow from just a fragment.

Celeste: I didn't approve that list.

Student: The Salvinia was drained into the wetland when the frog pond was cleaned out and, well it, because

it can double in size up to every two to three days which, what it does is it takes away all the oxygen so

everything that's in that wetland ecosystem or wherever it's taken over has to leave or be killed or die out.

Daniel: An infestation can double in size every two or three days.

Celeste: You sure you're not exaggerating just a little bit?

Daniel: Nothing can withstand this Brazilian monster.

Celeste: You know that scaremongering is one of the Greens' problems?

Daniel: The wetland is a green desert.

Only one plant lives there - your weed.

Celeste: Please don't hyperventilate over me, young man.

John: I'm very happy with the way my class worked on the mystery.

It kept them actively involved for a long period of time.

We actually got the answer out.

We weren't the first team to do it.

Student: We were the 50th student to get it right so that was pretty good.

Student: You have one guess and it has to be either right or wrong and we should be happy that we got it

right because there were plenty of schools around New South Wales that have got it wrong.

Student: Seeing as we were like 50 out of lots and lots of kids that's pretty good, to know that we're like, that good.

Student: We got it right and we really actually enjoyed the investigation though because it really got us

to know more about the environment and how we were polluting it.

Music

Dr Mina Myndbenda: Well, what a crime that was!

Half of me is still in shock!

Do you know some people still sell that weed to aquariums?

I am thinking - unthinking; I am thinking - selfish; I am thinking - unbelievably foolish!

Not a scientific brain amongst them, unlike you, my little parcels of perspicuity.

Sally: When we submitted our accusation of course we were delighted to get it right, although there was a

little bit of dissent at the end, and that's just been interesting in itself, you know.

The kids need to realise that there are times when, you know, we have to agree to disagree and that the

majority will have to be the ones who decide on behalf of the class what we're going to do.

We had to check the website at two o'clock and find out, you know, what the correct crimesite, villain and

victim were and I think there was loud cheering when we realised that we'd actually got it all right.

Music

Daniel: All right, so, done and dusted.

Zahara: You got it.

Daniel: You know she didn't even ask if it was possible to restore the wetland.

Zahara: Let it go Danno, just come home.

Daniel: Yeah.