Twelfth grade students enrolled in Mrs. Jameson’s Forensic Science class visited the Boston Museum of Science.  Five chaperones accompanied forty-nine students to the BMS.  Although there was ample time to see most of the exhibits at the museum, our focus was the new exhibit, CSI: The Experience.  “The exhibit takes a fascinating look into contemporary forensic science while challenging students to form their own hypotheses to solve a crime.”  

There were three crime scenes to choose from; A House Collided, “Who got Served” or “No Bones about It”.  First, we examined the mock crime scene, documented the evidence and drew the evidence on the diagram.  Second, we participated in part 1 of the simulated labs for fingerprints, foot impressions, fiber analysis, digital evidence, firearms, tool markings, forensic botany and blood spatter.  Third, we participated in part 2 of the simulated labs for dental impressions, DNA, toxicology, drug chemistry and entomology.  Fourth, we watched a video of an autopsy with a medical examiner explaining the findings.  Fifth, each group of students presented their report to the Supervisor, Gil Grissom via computer by typing in your finding and viewing the results.

The experience was an excellent opportunity for the students to gain additional hands-on exposure to the field of forensic science.  Returning to the classroom we plan to complete many lab activities, listen to outside speakers from the community and participate in solving more mock crime scenes.