Playing with balloons as senior isn’t a typical day in class.

Mrs. Brittany Miller’s forensics classes have learned about fingerprints and minutiae, or major features on a fingerprint these past few weeks.

“It was a fun, hands-on lab that gave me a different experience compared to the other labs we have done,” senior Lizette Torres said.

The students recently had an assignment to put their fingerprint on a white balloon, blow it up, and label the minutiae.

“It was hard not to smear the ink on the balloon because the latex didn’t absorb the ink,” senior Alex Pitman said.

When students were done labeling, they had to deflate the balloon without popping it. The students were told they would receive a zero if their balloon was popped.

“I made sure no one except me touched the balloon and I used a marker so there wouldn’t be a pointy edge,” senior Liana Barbosa said.

Each student had to cut a small hole near the bottom of the balloon and carefully let the air out.

“It was interesting to see my fingerprint blown up like that because I got to further see the minutiae found on fingerprints that help make each one unique,” Pitman said.