"Who Dunnit? The Case of the Missing Pudding"

Purpose of the Activity

This activity is designed to provide a multi-faceted engagement experience that promotes:
Cognitive Stimulation: Encourages deductive reasoning, problem-solving, memory recall, and attention to detail.
Social Interaction: Fosters teamwork, communication, and camaraderie as residents work together in small groups.
Light Physical Movement: Motivates residents to move around the room to search for clues.
Sense of Accomplishment & Fun: Creates a playful atmosphere and provides a rewarding conclusion where everyone gets to enjoy the "evidence" (pudding!).

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Materials Needed

For the Crime Scene:
An empty, large pudding bowl or several empty single-serving pudding cups.
A large serving spoon (the "weapon"), perhaps with a smear of chocolate syrup on it.
A small, overturned sign that reads: "Tonight's Special: Chocolate Pudding."
Yellow caution tape (optional, but adds great visual flair!).

For the Clues & Suspects (Print these ahead of time):
Suspect Profile Sheets (1 per team): Create three fun, fictional suspect profiles. (See example below).
Clue Cards (3 total): Small, numbered cards with one clue on each.
The "Confession" Note (1 total): A sealed envelope containing the culprit's confession.
Case File Folders (1 per team): To hold the suspect profiles and a notepad.

For the Detectives:
Small notepads and pens (1 per team or 1 per resident).
Magnifying glasses (optional, fun props).
Detective hats (optional, fun props).
A whiteboard or large flip chart to track clues as a group.

For the Finale:
Enough chocolate pudding and spoons for all participants and staff.
Small "Top Detective" certificates for the winning team (optional).

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