CSI Metro

Over the years, many heinous crimes have been committed at Metro. We’ve had crime scenes that display spilled blood, fibers, fingerprints and footprints. The evidence always seems to lead to shallow graves on the OSU Waterman Agricultural campus, where the victims lie, quietly decomposing while awaiting justice.

Welcome to “Forensics in the Classroom,” another PAST- and Battelle-sponsored adventure for our students during the summer months. This was the second summer it was offered and it has been quite popular. Students begin in the classroom learning crime scene investigative skills from professionals in the forensics field.

Classroom lessons include crime scene mapping, photography, shoe mark casting, blood typing, DNA, fingerprints, footprints and tool marks. Oh, yeah, and they had a lovely lesson on decaying bodies and stages of maggots. Their professor even brought in road kill to show the different stages. Fun! From a student’s journal:

“Today at forensics camp we studied entomology and criminalistics. Our guest speaker in the morning was Dr. Shetlar, the “Bug Doc.” He taught us about the different types of maggots that live on dead bodies and what kind of flies they would turn into. Then we went outside and looked at decaying animals that had been on the side of the road that he had picked up to show the class. The first animal we saw was a raccoon that had been rotting for weeks. All the maggots had already pupated and left shells all over the carcass. Lucky for us right after that we had lunch.”

After the classroom, the excavation of the graves begins, and students collect clues as they record evidence found with the “bodies.” (Don’t worry; they use plastic skeletons, not real victims!!) The chain of evidence is very important in this process, as the students learn how they would present their cases in court to see if they can convict their suspect.

For more journals and photos, go to www.pastfoundation.org/2008ForensicsintheClassroom

Swati sleuthing fingerprint types.