Teach lesson
Ceiling detectives: find the hidden clue
An ordinary ceiling has a temperature clue. Reveal it with a real thermal camera, choose where to investigate, and separate evidence from a guess.
Sign in with an educator account to prepare a class session. Students join with a class code.
New to LabsLand? Create your teacher account
Learning Outcomes
Locate a temperature-related clue in a real thermal-camera recording.
Distinguish an observation from a possible explanation that needs more evidence.
Student activity preview
Activity Content
Preview only. In a class session, students can fill in responses and submit their work to the teacher.
1 · An ordinary ceiling?
2 min
A building detective can look for clues without taking a ceiling apart. Your mission: find one place worth investigating, then say what your evidence can—and cannot—tell you.
Before the thermal view
Look at the ceiling between the lights. This is the ordinary view from the same recording you will investigate.
Make a quick guess aloud: where might a temperature clue appear? Point and tell a partner. You do not need to name anything hidden.
A thermal camera detects invisible infrared radiation and makes a picture related to surface temperature. Let it help you investigate.
2 · Reveal the clue
6 min
Watch with a partner. One of you finds a clue; the other asks, “What can you actually see?” Then swap roles. Keep each person's answers in their own activity.
Investigate the ceiling
Open the lab and select Choose scenario → Small office → Office → False ceiling with a device (3).
Select Start observing. Watch the whole 20-second recording. The small screen on the handheld camera is the thermal picture.
Select Repeat and watch for a place that stands out on that screen. Can your partner find the same clue? This replays the same recording.
Return to this activity and mark the lab step complete after watching. Use the still below to examine your clue.
Examine the clue after watching
Enlarge this frame from the recording. Describe a position on the camera screen, so your partner can find your clue.
The strip at the right edge of the camera screen is its scale: colours higher on it mean warmer; lower mean cooler. Match your patch to that strip. The white writing and symbols are labels, not warm objects. No temperature numbers are needed.
Your detective note
Where on the camera screen is your strongest clue, and why is it worth investigating? Write one short sentence. Describe its position and how it differs from its surroundings.
3 · A clue or a guess?
4 min
The camera gives clues about the surface we can see. To explain what is above it, we need more evidence.
Your partner says, “Now we know exactly what is above the ceiling!” Does your evidence go that far?
Your verdict
Which report can your detective team defend using the thermal picture?
Finish aloud: “We found a clue, but we still do not know…” Listen to your partner's ending. Check your two answers and submit.
Turn this preview into a live class session
Continue to LabsLand Teach to use this lesson with your students and review the access available to your account.
New to LabsLand? Create your teacher account