By Tori Hunt
A car collides with a suburban home and leaves the driver dead. The body of a waitress is found sprawled in an alleyway. And a partially buried human skull turns up on a hiking path…
Don’t worry! These aren’t the horrific headlines of the evening news. They are descriptions of the simulated crime scenes making up CSI: The Experience, the next exhibit to arrive in the halls of COSI. If you’ve ever wanted to solve a mystery, the time has come to crack the case and call yourself a super sleuth!
When museum-goers in Columbus visit COSI this summer they will have the chance to step inside the world of one of today’s most popular television series and take on the role of forensic scientists. Based off of CBS’s wild success, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: The Experience opens May 24 for a three-month run until Labor Day, Sept. 1.
This hands-on exhibit consists of crime scenes modeled after those appearing on the series and features a laboratory set-up closely resembling that of Gil Grissom and his team of CSIs. Guests will be able to probe recreated crime scenes, gather and analyze evidence, and report their findings. There are a variety of processes and technologies that allow scientists to nail down crime cases, many of which are featured in CSI: The Experience. Blood spatter analysis, DNA testing and toxicology are just a few of the techniques that can be explored as part of this exhibit.
“The whole point is to come out and discover whether you can actually manage to solve a crime,” says Kelly Nowinsky, public relations manager for COSI.
Avid investigators of all ages will do just that by engaging in one of three crime scenes —“A House Collided”, “Who Got Served” and “No Bones About It”. From beginning to end of this exhibit, the assumed goal is to solve the crime for Grissom, the lead character on CSI. Once patrons think they hit upon the key to the mystery, they can present their case in a replica of Grissom’s office.
A walk-through of the exhibit starts off with a video introduction from cast members and a host of bonafide forensic scientists. The show’s creators wanted to be involved with the design of the exhibit and ensure that it reflects the true spirit of the show.
The series serves as a backdrop for the exhibit in the sense that all of the investigative activities are similar and details of the crime labs are the same, down to the items arranged on Grissom’s desk. But the unique part of what is offered by CSI: The Experience is that you can do it yourself. The exhibit does more than identify with the television show; it relates specifically to the fields of forensics and criminology, and embodies some of the most basic fundamentals of COSI — a combination of interactive fun and learning.
Nowinsky and others at the museum have high hopes for this exhibit. It has an intrinsic tie-in with pop culture and will interest children, teens and adults alike. But more important than its fan appeal is the chance to introduce young people to career field opportunities in forensic science, which was a huge factor in the decision to bring CSI: The Experience to Columbus.
“This is an amazing exhibit. CSI is one of the most successful television shows around and everyone knows about it, so it’s great to be able to bring in families, and to teach kids about forensic science and have a good time,” says Nowinsky.
COSI urges buying tickets early. Summer crowds are large and these blockbuster type-exhibits typically bring in 100,000 people or so. In 2005, Titantic: The Artifact Exhibition had as many as 220,000 viewers.
Nowinsky cautions that although they aren’t putting any age limitations on the exhibit, parental guidance is suggested. The victims in the crime scenes are obviously not real, but the exhibit does contain graphic content.
The exhibit has traveled to various museums around the country and coverage of past locations can be viewed on www.youtube.com by searching for CSI: The Experience. For an inside look at what the exhibit entails, visit www.cosi.org or call 614-288-COSI.