Our Activities

Online and In-Classroom Kits

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Why Choose Learn Engines?

About Learn Engines

Dedicated to a better way to educate students

The name “Learn Engines” is a take-off on the term “search engines.” A search engine, as we know, is a tool that helps us to search and find better. A learn engine is a tool that helps one to learn better. We create experiences — learn engines — with a story that compels students to learn and apply science while progressing toward a rewarding objective. This makes the learning more effective, longer-lasting and more fun for the students.

We make science lab activities that are:

  • Flexible and Modular

    Created so teachers can adapt the learning to the schedule of the class.

  • Authentic

    Based on a phenomenon from the world the students and teachers know.

  • Reuseable

    The products can be used again from class to class and include the option of ordering refills for the consumable components of the kit.

  • Blend of Real and Virtual World

    Our products are a blend of the real world and the virtual world. This results in the best educational experience for the child.

  • Fun

    Students love to learn as they try to solve the science mystery presented in these products.

Who Took Fluffy?®

Get Who Took Fluffy?®

Get Who Took Fluffy?® Virtual Online Lab Activity Get Who Took Fluffy?® In-Classroom Kit

Who Took Fluffy?® is also available from

Carolina Biological Ward’s Science

About Who Took Fluffy?®

  • Where could Fluffy be?
  • Who did it?
  • Jay Elementary, where Fluffy went missing

The Activity

Who Took Fluffy?® is a Who-Done-It mystery that introduces students to science concepts through a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach.

The problem is simple: determine Who Took Fluffy?® (Fluffy is a rabbit who is the class mascot in Ms. Donroe’s classroom).

To achieve that determination, students learn concepts that help form the basis for all science learning such as pattern recognition, cause and effect and evidence-based conclusions.

The Case

One morning, the students in Ms. Donroe’s class at Jay Elementary School arrived to find their class mascot, Fluffy the rabbit, missing from his hutch! Everyone was upset: this was their pet rabbit, the snow-white adorable little cutie they all named Fluffy!

“Use science and logical reasoning,” Ms. Donroe told her students, “In order to solve this mystery and find Fluffy.”

Online Activity

  • Works anywhere with a web browser
  • The student dashboard shows progress and the evidence list shows what has been collected so far
  • Each topic is accompanied by a high quality lesson and auto-graded quiz
  • Collect evidence in the 3D classroom and if you get stuck you can ask Ms. Donroe for help
  • Examine collected evidence in the lab
  • The gradebook provides a quick overview of how the class is doing and more detailed information can be accessed for each student

The Who Took Fluffy?® online activity provides seven lessons and five lab activities. This fun science mystery activity is problem-based learning (PBL) that compels the application of science and is aligned with grade-appropriate NGSS standards. This is an online activity that students access via a web browser on any device connected to the internet including desktops, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks or smartphones.

Schedule a demo online to learn more.

In-Classroom Kit

  • The full Who Took Fluffy?® kit
  • The Who Took Fluffy?® kit comes in a convenient tote
  • Materials from the fiber analysis lab

The Who Took Fluffy?® kit includes everything the teacher and students need to conduct six Lessons and five Lab Activities:

  1. Lesson 1: The Story
  2. Lesson and Lab 2: Blood Typing
  3. Lesson and Lab 3: Hair Analysis
  4. Lesson and Lab 4: Fingerprint Analysis
  5. Lesson and Lab 5: Footprint Impression
  6. Lesson and Lab 6: Fiber Analysis

The Teacher and Student Booklets included provide lessons and step-by-step procedures for conducting the labs. These booklets also present the story and the characters involved in a fun, graphically rich style. They also include a code to access the Online Viewer where control samples and evidence can be explored on a computer or tablet.

Learn More about Who Took Fluffy?®

Murder at Old Fields®

Get Murder at Old Fields®

Get Murder at Old Fields® Virtual Online Lab Activity Get Murder at Old Fields® In-Classroom Kit

About Murder at Old Fields®

    An excerpt from The Long Islander newspaper on Friday, November 18th, 1842, just five days after the heinous double-murder of Alexander and Rebecca Smith
    The bodies were discovered in the front room in by the fireplace
    The location of Smith Farm, in what was then known as Old Fields (now Greenlawn) on Long Island, New York

The Activity

Murder at Old Fields® is an exciting Forensic Science Lab Activity for grades 7 - 12. Based on the 1842 double-murder of Alexander and Rebecca Smith at their farmhouse in Old Fields, Long Island, students examine evidence and conduct labs based on the historical facts of this case.

The Case

On Sunday, November 13th, 1842 Alexander and Rebecca Smith were the victims of a heinous double-murder. The Smiths were a prominent, wealthy, and well-respected couple who ran Smith Farm in what was then known as Old Fields® (now Greenlawn) on Long Island, New York. The crime made nationwide news, as much for the gruesome manner in which it was committed, as for where it occurred – in front of the hearth of a quaint and prosperous farmhouse, in a peaceful, quiet, rural farming community.

Online Activity

  • The Case File provides a central location for students to view all their collected evidence
  • Each lesson features helpful illustrations and provides the student with all of the information he/she needs to conduct the lab activities
  • Analyze evidence and control samples in the lab and record your results
  • Upon logging in, teachers are presented with an easy-to-use interface presenting their students' progress and results

The Murder at Old Fields® online Forensic Science Lab Activity is truly a cutting edge tool for teachers and students to learn forensic science through an objective-based, learning-by-discovery educational tool.

The online version of Murder at Old Fields® provides:

  • Lessons that teach forensic science according to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Learn more about how Murder at Old Fields® aligns with the NGSS and other standards.
  • Quizzes auto-graded to quickly and easily gauge a student’s mastery of the science lessons.
  • Discovery of the evidence at the 3D crime scene of a historically-accurate rural American 19th Century farmhouse.
  • Lab activities to analyze evidence, record data and apply the scientific method to solve problems through a compelling and engaging use of the most advanced online tools available.
  • Easy to use accounts where students can assess their results and teachers can monitor student performance. Teachers can choose to enable some or all of the lab activities to accommodate the class schedule and help students learn through discovery, at their own pace.

Meticulously crafted to reflect the facts of this long cold case, Murder at Old Fields® is also an ideal interdisciplinary/cross-curricular learning experience, with a rich immersion in American history and a strong narrative of the crime and the time.

Schedule a demo online to learn more.

In-Classroom Kit

  • Everything you'll need to run 7 successful lab activities for up to 30 students
  • Every item in the kit can be stored neatly in trunk for re-use class-after-class, semester-after-semester
  • Evidence samples that correspond precisely to the location of the evidence, and the story of the crime

The Murder at Old Fields® Forensic Science Lab Activity Real-World Kit is created in easy-to-use modules so that teachers can fit the lab activity within the time available – from a few days to an entire semester!

These modules include:

  1. Introduction to the case including primary source material (such as newspaper articles and coroner's reports) of the actual crime.
  2. Suspect and Victim Information - including a brief synopsis of the personal story of the people involved, and the pertinent facts, including age, hair color, height, weight and age.
  3. The Evidence – A review of the evidence found at the site including hair samples, blood drops, footprints, fingerprints and the possible murder weapons.
  4. The Labs - This Murder At Old Fields® Forensic Science Lab Activity includes seven (7) labs, each of which can help student-detectives collect data to help identify the murderer. These labs include hair analysis, blood typing, fingerprint analysis, blood spatter, DNA fingerprinting, footprint impression, and pathology.

Learn More about Murder at Old Fields®

Diablo Highway®

Get Diablo Highway®

Get Diablo Highway® Virtual Online Lab Activity Get Diablo Highway® In-Classroom Kit

Diablo Highway® is also available from

Carolina Biological Ward’s Science

About Diablo Highway®

  • Based on the Unsolved West Texas Frome Murders in 1938
  • The 1938 Packard used by the Fromes on their ill-fated road trip
  • Portion of Sheriff Chris P. Fox’s Site Map for his investigation

The Activity

Case History: Diablo Highway® features comprehensive forensic science lab activities based on actual crimes that occurred in the not-recent past. Diablo Highway® contains 11 lessons and nine lab activities for middle and high school students based on the double-murder of Hazel Frome and her daughter Nancy that occurred in March 1938 on a desert road in Southwest Texas. Diablo Highway® is problem-based learning (PBL) that compels the application of science through real-world problem solving.

The Case

The Unsolved Frome Murders

The Frome murders prompted sensational nationwide news coverage as much because of the gruesome details of the murders as for the identity of the victims: two women of style and wealth, mother and daughter, traveling in their luxury car un-escorted through some of the most inhospitable terrain in America - the West Texas desert. This crime has never been solved.

Online Activity

  • Explore and collect evidence in a 3D recreation of the crime scene
  • Examine 3D models of the control samples and collected evidence in the lab
  • High quality, graphically-rich lessons
  • Multiple choice quizzes that are automatically graded
  • Dashboard to track student's progress

Diablo Highway® contains 11 lessons and nine lab activities for middle and high school students based on the infamous unsolved Frome murders in March 1938 on a desert road in Southwest Texas. The activity is problem-based learning (PBL) that compels the application of science and is aligned with grade-appropriate NGSS standards. This is an online activity that students access via a web browser on any device connected to the internet including desktops, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks or smartphones.

Schedule a demo online to learn more.

In-Classroom Kit

  • The full Diablo Highway® kit
  • Kits are shipped in a sturdy, plastic tote for safe storage and easy access
  • Materials from the Firearms Identification lab

The Diablo Highway® real-world kit contains 10 lab activities for middle and high school students based on the double-murder of Hazel Frome and her daughter Nancy in March 1938 on a desert road in Southwest Texas. The activity is problem-based learning that compels the application of science through real-world problem solving and is aligned with grade-appropriate NGSS standards.

Kit includes everything to support a class of 30 students working in groups except microscopes. For grades 7-12, community colleges and trade schools.

Learn More about Diablo Highway®

Standards Alignment

Learn Engines has prepared the following matching tool to help educational administrators see how our activities align with the NGSS as well as the different state educational standards. We are actively working to align with a broader range of standards and that data will be added to this page as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you have questions about how a particular activity aligns with a certain standard that is not listed here, please contact us.

What Teachers are Saying

  • Murder at Old Fields® allows the kids to each work at their own pace.

    Watch Interview

    Cara J. Instructional Specialist

  • [Murder at Old Fields®] helped me to learn forensics a little bit better.

    Watch Interview

    Kecia S. Forensic Science Teacher

  • [Murder at Old Fields®] was super fun and the kids loved it. They got to go search out the clues and just got into it.

    Watch Interview

    Jen T. Science Teacher

  • I've used the [Murder at Old Fields®] kit by itself and also in conjunction with the online version. The blended experience allows the students to really visualize the crime scene.

    Watch Interview

    Karalyn R. Associate Chair of Science Dept., Science Teacher

  • Some of (the students) have gone looking for the evidence even on their own time, at home, so I think it's been an outstanding response.

    Watch Interview

    Rich F. Forensic Science Teacher

  • I would strongly recommend adding [Murder at Old Fields®] to the curriculum because it's a great way to supplement the evidence or you can use it as a culminating activity as well.

    Watch Interview

    Keith M. Forensic Science Teacher

  • We have students all over the world in our program so I saw Murder at Old Fields® at an NSTA conference and was so excited and was able to integrate it into our course.

    Watch Interview

    Katherine E. Doctoral Student

  • I purchased Murder at Old Fields® with my own money because I wanted the kids to have something real world to do in the classroom.

    Watch Interview

    Nancy K. Forensic Science Teacher

  • The students are enjoying solving a real life case and I am enjoying this kit which is making lab set-up time practically zero!

    Willowyone Diablo Highway® User

Online Activities

Learn Engines online activities are accessed in a web browser on any device connected to the internet including desktops, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks or smartphones. Online activities are include lessons, quizzes, labs, and interactive crime scene and more. Quizzes and labs are auto-graded with all student results presented in an easy to use gradebook for the teacher.

Learn Engines online activities use the latest web technologies in order to deliver a rich, interactive experience right in your web browser. No other software downloads or plugins are needed, just a modern and up-to-date web browser.

In-Classroom Kits

Learn Engines in-Classroom kits come with everything needed to conduct lessons and labs. The included Teacher and Student Booklets provide lessons and step-by-step procedures for conducting the labs. These booklets also present the story of each case.

Kits are shipped in a sturdy, clear plastic tote for safe storage and easy access. Each of the lab activities are packed in their own heavy-duty reclosable poly storage bag. Refill kits are available to replace the consumable items so that the labs can be conducted multiple times.

Blended Activities

Murder at Old Fields®

There are two versions of Murder at Old Fields® - in-classroom labs and online labs. Each is designed so that it can be conducted independently or as a "blended" learning activity - a mix of both a real and a virtual experience.

In the online version, for example, the students get to visit the virtual crime scene, to see the space and collect the items of interest. This will help them to visualize the activity and construct a credible narrative of the event.

In using the in-classroom activity, the students benefit by solving problems with their own hands and eyes, such as by conducting the chemical reaction of a blood typing test.

In this way, by using Murder at Old Fields® as a blended activity, the students' learning is enhanced through the value of both types of learning.

Diablo Highway®

There are two versions of Diablo Highway® - in-classroom labs and online labs. Each is designed so that it can be conducted independently or as a "blended" learning activity - a mix of both a real and a virtual experience.

In the online version, for example, the students get to visit the virtual crime scene, to see the space and collect the items of interest. This will help them to visualize the activity and construct a credible narrative of the event.

In using the in-classroom activity, the students benefit by solving problems with their own hands and eyes, such as by conducting the chemical reaction of a blood typing test.

In this way, by using Diablo Highway® as a blended activity, the students' learning is enhanced through the value of both types of learning.

Who Took Fluffy?®

There are two versions of Who Took Fluffy?® - in-classroom labs and online labs. Each is designed so that it can be conducted independently or as a "blended" learning activity - a mix of both a real and a virtual experience.

In the online version, for example, the students get to visit the virtual classroom scene, to see the space and collect the items of interest. This will help them to visualize the activity and construct a credible narrative of the event.

In using the in-classroom activity, the students benefit by solving problems with their own hands and eyes, such as by conducting the chemical reaction of a blood typing test.

In this way, by using Who Took Fluffy?® as a blended activity, the students' learning is enhanced through the value of both types of learning.

Student Purchased Licenses

For classes where students must purchase their own materials individual licenses are available. When an educator signs up for a free teacher account they will be given a code which they will provide to their students. Students use this code when purchasing their licenses so that they will be enrolled in the correct class.

Individual licenses are available for Murder at Old Fields® and Diablo Highway®.

Get Murder at Old Fields® Individual License Get Diablo Highway® Individual License

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