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CSI Detectives Camp: Explore Forensic Science

In this one week camp we explore different areas of forensics: fingerprint and hair analysis, chromatography, skeletal clues, footprint identification, tire tread examination and more. Students will use clues to answer the case questions.

Long Island Science Center

Average rating:

4.8

Number of reviews:

(189)

What's included

5 live meetings

5 in-class hours

Class Experience

This is a five session one week camp that will explore different aspects of Forensic Science. Each week we will explore a different aspect and have the students draw conclusions. Throughout the course of the program we will review skeletal clues that both humans and animals hold, crime scene investigative techniques including soil, hair and evidence analysis, footprint identification, chromatography, and fingerprint identification.

Day 1 - Forensic Archaeology - What Do Bones Reveal About You?
During the class, the instructor will explain the circumstances in which the human remains were found. Next the instructor will show on screen and in closeup images the bones of the skeleton in different groupings. Each grouping of bones will help determine a new piece of information. The groups include determining gender, determining height, determining how bones are affected by muscle structure, and determining cause of death. Using the information they have gathered, the students will conclude the manner and cause of death. Please note, this class uses real human skeletal remains that have been donated to science. The instructor will show both slides that contain pictures of the remains and the individual bones directly on camera to show what clues the bone structures hold.

Day 2 - Crime Scene Investigators
Search the scene for clues, analyze your findings, and interpret the evidence to build a suspect profile. Students will receive a case overview and then view evidence from the scene to determine its importance and decide of it can be used to help eliminate or include subjects. Students will learn about hair analysis, soil analysis, and how to decide what evidence might be useful and why.

Day 3 - Zooarchaeology
Learn how scientists identify non-human skeletal remains as the educator provides an explanation of a variety of animal skulls and vertebrae. Students will develop an understand of how skeletal structures help scientists understand information about the animal they belonged to.

Day 4 - Crime Lab
Students will investigate a crime using techniques of fingerprinting, chromatography and various clues. The goal is to solve the crime of the missing Madagascar hissing roaches. An exciting and challenging experience.

Day 5 - Tire Tread Evidence
Tire impressions reflect the tread design and dimensional features of the individual tires on a vehicle. If properly collected the tire tread impression is extremely valuable in proving a suspect vehicle was present at a crime scene.

Learning Goals

This class was designed to be delivered in a classroom setting and provides information that supports the following New York State Next Generation Science Learning Standards.
4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. 
5-PS1-3 Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
MS-PS1-8 Plan and conduct an investigation to demonstrate that mixtures are combinations of substances.
MS-LS4-2 Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.
Crosscutting Concept: Cause and Effect: Phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can only be described using probability.

Other Details

Parental Guidance

This class explores forensic science. We will be showing real human and animal skeletons on camera in order to show how skeletal structure can help provide us with clues. We will discuss how we can determine gender, height, age, and cause of death with our human skeletal remains. With our animal skeletons we will identify what clues we can find about if the animal was predator or prey, bipedal or quadrupedal, and a carnivore or herbivore. On the CSI day we will be discussion a fictitious case where a person has been found deceased. This day focuses on the physical evidence found including garbage, soil, and hair strands.

Supply List

Students will need their case files and worksheets that will be posted in the classroom to avoid confusion as to what materials will be needed when. Students should have a pen or pencil to record their observations as we review the evidence. In addition, students will need:
Day 4: Coffee filter (or tissue), brown marker (NOT a Sharpie), glass of water, pencil, tape.
Day 5: Moldable clay

9 files available upon enrollment

External Resources

Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Long Island Science Center

Joined August, 2020

4.8

189reviews

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

The Long Island Science Center is a 501(c)3 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Learning Museum. We have been providing hands-on STEAM programming in schools and libraries since 1995 with our enriching educational programs reaching more than 350,000 students.   

We strive to prepare young people for the challenges of a 21st century economy built on advanced technology and innovation. 

We ignite curiosity, fuel creativity and unlock the passion for problem-solving and discovery with STEAM curricula, programs and interactive, hands-on experiences designed to cultivate future leaders and engaged, digitally literate citizens.

A fun thing about our organization is that we have four 3D printers that we use to teach 3D printing classes.  Recently, we were contacted by a group of engineers that wanted to build a life-sized robot so we agreed to help them by printing out robot parts for them on our printers.