2008 Woodie Awards
HMNS debuts CSI exhibit, intrigues minds
Experience based on hit TV show will fascinate forensics fans
Susan Trawick
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: A & E
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On Feb. 1, the Houston Museum of Natural Science launched "CSI: The Experience," an interactive forensic science exhibition that allows Houstonians to immerse themselves in a world where science meets the law.
Participants' careers as crime scene investigators begin with a look at the meticulously detailed display of miniature murder scenes, on which multiple CSI episodes were based. The level of precision and artistic skill devoted to these pieces is stunning. Members of each tour group are then ushered into a large viewing room where CSI creator Anthony Zuiker appears on-screen to talk about why he created the show, the success of the show and his hopes for the exhibit.
Anticipation builds as Zuiker explains how the show began, describing the human body as the perfect specimen. Excitement continues to grow until he finally says, "You are the CSI! Report to Gil Grissom." The popular television character Grissom greets members of the group as new CSI recruits and provides the first instructions needed to complete the case-solving mission.
Before entering the exhibit, each person is assigned one of three cleverly and appropriately named crime scenes: "A House Collided," "Who Got Served?" and "No Bones About It." After examining the crime scene thoroughly and writing down observations, exhibit-goers work to solve the case by experimenting and engaging in an array of real CSI tests. Analyzing toxicology reports, examining DNA evidence and browsing through a replicated FBI Combined DNA Index System are just a few of the tasks individuals will have the opportunity to complete.
With a pencil, clipboard and case sheet in hand, participants record latent prints, trace evidence like fibers or hairs left behind at a crime scene, witness video blood-splatter demonstrations and compile a medical examiner report by visiting the autopsy room. Exhibit participants get a taste of forensic biology that is definitely more tame than the graphic, disturbing experience often shown on the television series, upsetting those with weaker stomachs.