Spot a forgery
Create original and forged drawings or signatures, then use magnifying glass, light, and comparison techniques to learn how to spot forgeries safely.
About this activity
Create original and forged drawings or signatures, then use magnifying glass, light, and comparison techniques to learn how to spot forgeries safely.
What you need
Step by step
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Step 1
Clear a flat table and put all your materials where you can reach them easily.
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Step 2
Draw a simple original signature or tiny picture on a clean sheet using your pencil.
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Step 3
Place tracing paper over your original and trace it carefully to make a traced copy.
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Step 4
On a new sheet, copy the original freehand while looking at it to make a freehand copy.
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Step 5
On another sheet, make a forged variation by changing the slant size or spacing on purpose.
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Step 6
Turn on your flashlight or desk lamp so you have bright light for inspecting papers.
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Step 7
Angle the light so it skims across the paper surface to help reveal indentations and pressure marks.
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Step 8
Hold the magnifying glass over the original and look closely at where strokes start and stop for smoothness.
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Step 9
Hold the magnifying glass over the traced copy and look closely at the same stroke areas to compare line quality.
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Step 10
Hold the magnifying glass over the freehand copy and look closely at the same stroke areas to compare shakiness and flow.
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Step 11
Hold the magnifying glass over the forged variation and look closely for changes in pressure slant or unexpected pen lifts.
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Step 12
Place the original and each copy side by side under the angled light and look for differences in slant spacing line smoothness and indentations.
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Step 13
Share your original and the copies plus what you discovered about the differences on DIY.org.
Fun facts
How do you do the 'Spot a Forgery' activity with my child?
To play 'Spot a Forgery', have children create a simple original drawing or signature and then make a deliberate 'forged' version that mimics it. Give kids a magnifying glass and a lamp to examine stroke pressure, pen lifts, spacing, letter shapes, and ink flow. Teach them to compare side-by-side, overlay tracing paper, angle the light to see indentations, and use a checklist. Discuss clues found and let them practice improving observation with gentle guidance.
What materials do I need for 'Spot a Forgery'?
You’ll need plain paper, pencils and pens in different colors, a magnifying glass, a bright desk lamp or flashlight, tracing paper, and a ruler for comparisons. Optional items: colored pencils for disguises, sticky notes to label samples, a clipboard, and a smartphone camera to take close-up photos. Always use only blank paper — never practice copying real signatures or documents — and keep scissors or any sharp tools for adult use only.
What ages is the 'Spot a Forgery' activity suitable for?
This activity suits children roughly ages 6 and up with adult supervision. Younger kids (6–8) can practice spotting obvious differences in shape and color; ages 9–12 can work on pen pressure, stroke order, and more careful comparisons. Teens can explore signature features, photography of samples, and ethical discussions about forgery. Adapt tasks to attention span and fine motor skills, and always supervise when using lamps, magnifiers, or discussing copying real documents.
What safety tips should I follow when doing 'Spot a Forgery' with children?
Safety first: never have children copy real signatures, bank forms, or official documents. Use only blank paper and explain legal/ethical issues. Supervise use of magnifying glasses and lamps — avoid shining glass in direct sunlight and don’t point bright lights at eyes. Keep scissors, craft knives, and chemicals out of reach and reserved for adults. Praise observation, focus on learning detection skills, and reinforce that this activity teaches critical thinking, not deception.
Watch & Learn
Need help?
What can we use if tracing paper, a magnifying glass, or a flashlight are hard to find?
If you don't have tracing paper use thin baking or parchment paper to trace, if you lack a magnifying glass use your phone camera's zoom or reading glasses to examine strokes, and if you don't have a flashlight use strong daylight at an angle or a desk lamp for raking light.
What should we do if the traced copy slips, indentations aren't visible, or the freehand copy is too shaky?
Tape the tracing paper to the original so it doesn't move, press a bit harder when making the original or darken the room and angle the flashlight sharply to make indentations show, and practice drawing the original several times to steady your freehand copy before comparing with the magnifying glass.
How can we adapt this activity for younger kids and older kids?
For younger children make the original much larger and use crayons or markers so they can easily trace and spot slant or size differences by eye, while older kids can use fine-tip pens, create subtler forged variations (small slant or spacing changes), and rely on the magnifying glass and angled light to analyze strokes and indentations.
How can we extend or personalize the activity beyond the basic comparison and sharing on DIY.org?
Turn it into a detective challenge by collecting originals from different family members, assigning points for correctly identifying the traced, freehand, and forged variations using the magnifying glass and angled lamp, photographing each side-by-side comparison to document indentations and stroke differences, and posting your findings and photos on DIY.org.