Forensics in the Classroom 2010

PAST Foundation & I Know I Can present

26th July – 13th August: Day Program – 50 positions available each week
Week 1: Rising 7th graders: July 26 – 30, 2010
Week 2: Rising 8th graders: August 2 – 6, 2010
Week 3: Rising 8th graders: August 9 – 13, 2010
Bridge Program: Level I

The Details

Location: Columbus, OH
Cost: Applications through I Know I Can
Director: Lara McCormick
Contact: fieldschools@pastfoundation.org

Register Now!: Registration Opens APRIL 1, 2010

Note from the director

Welcome to the 2010 PAST Foundation Forensics in the Classroom program in Columbus, Ohio! This season 150 students join the staff of PAST to investigate, analyze and solve crimes at the Arts Impact Middle School and St. Stephen’s Center. Through a collaborative effort with I Know I Can! ® and The Ohio State University Department of Anthropology, the PAST teams will learn about different aspects of crime scene investigation from the initial response to the presentation in the courtroom.

Each week, 50 students will inspect three crime scenes from perspectives of numerous crime scene personnel such as anthropologists, fingerprint technicians, blood spatter analysts and forensic photographers. The students will interpret this evidence to create a narrative of the events that occurred leading to the scene. On the final day, students will serve as various experts and legal representatives and will present their case findings to an informal courtroom.

Our days are going to be very busy and filled with exciting activities! I hope that you will follow along as we uncover the truth to each of these mysteries.

Lara E. McCormick, Director – Forensics in the Classroom

The Challenge

FITC is a wonderful vehicle for introducing students to STEM disciplines, design principles and scientific methodologies, and project based learning capitalizing on our human fascination with solving mysteries. Partnering with the Forensic Program within the Department of Anthropology, students will participate in a week-long preparation program that will take advantage of the expertise of the OSU police and other specialists in helping deepen the faculty’s understanding of specific forensic techniques and the reasons for using them.

The Solution

Over the course of one week, students will investigate different mock crime scenes; each day the students will tackle another scientific technique that will help them solve the mystery. They will learn how to collect fingerprints and interpret them, the trajectory of blood spatter and how to use math to analyze it. They will learn about DNA as well as the importance of systematic data collection, how to read information contained in the shape and size of bones, and how to take the amassed data and match it to a missing person profile.

The Program

	Morning Activities	Afternoon Activities	Location
Day 1	Orientation & Fingerprints	Introduction	Columbus, OH
Day 2	Blood Splatter & Trace Evidence	Crime Scene Investigation
Day 3	Ballistics & Casting	Crime Scene Investigation
Day 4	Cadaver Dogs & Decomposition	Crime Scene Investigation
Day 5	Evidence Preparation for Testimony	Court Room