Sherlock Bones

Sherlock Bones is a mystery game we built for younger naturalists — roughly fourth to eighth grade, though adults play it too and nobody judges. Sherlock and his trusty sleuth Sir Whetson are on the case of a missing mouse. To solve it, the player has to piece together the evidence: the actual bones inside a barn-owl pellet.

Because learning should be fun. Because owl pellets are how real biologists figure out what is actually living in a landscape. And because we think the best way to teach a kid about a food web is to let them reassemble one, bone by bone, on a rainy afternoon.

What they learn without noticing

• Barn-owl diet — what barn owls eat, how they catch it, how often they eat it.
• Small-mammal skeletal anatomy — what a vole femur looks like, how to tell a shrew skull from a mouse skull, why some bones dissolve and others do not.
• How field biologists actually work — sampling, identification, cautious inference. Sherlock does not guess. Sherlock measures.
• Patience — the game does not skip to the answer. You work the case.

How to play

• Free in the browser — play Sherlock Bones now on any device.
• Mobile app — iOS and Android. Download links on the game’s landing page.
• Classroom kit — we put together a teacher pack with real (sterilized) owl pellets for hands-on use in class. Request one at info@wolfcenter.org.

For teachers and parents

Sherlock Bones is part of our Owl Brand family of educational games — content we develop specifically for elementary and middle-school audiences, aligned informally with NGSS life-science standards (grades 3–8). There is no subscription and no in-app purchase.

A full teacher guide (lesson plans, comprehension questions, extension activities) is in progress. Email us to get on the early-access list.

What’s next for Sherlock

A second case is in development — set in the Pacific Northwest, featuring a different predator and a different piece of evidence. Announcements in the C3 Journal and the monthly newsletter.