Solve the Crime at CSI: The Experience

This sounds like a job for Morgan Short, but until he gets a chance to suss this out a la Star Trek, lovers of crime fiction and Jerry Bruckheimer-produced TV shows may want to head over to Joy City Chaoyang and check out CSI: The Experience.

Inspired by the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: The Experience is a traveling exhibition about crime lab forensic science and technology, making its first visit to China

The exhibit was developed for the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, in partnership with CBS Consumer Products and the National Science Foundation, which provided USD 2.4 million in funding for both the exhibit and a CSI "Web Adventure" targeted to underserved youth. Approved by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the exhibit was developed and designed by numerous partners.

The experience starts with a video briefing. The visitors start their investigation in one of three crime scenes: a suburban living room with a car crashed through it, a hotel alley, and a remote desert. In each, visitors are asked to identify and gather evidence; analyze materials with the help of scientific techniques; formulate hypotheses about the crime; and confirm and communicate their findings.

CSI: The Experience features two separate crime labs ("trace evidence" and "forensic analysis") and an autopsy room where visitors can explore the technology used in evidence analysis. In order to trace vehicle tracks, clothing fibers, and paint chips in the first lab, museum-goers will collect data from microscope analysis to determine where matches occur and how they contribute to the larger hypothesis. Here, visitors can also evaluate digital evidence provided by cell phones and other electronics, in addition to hard evidence such as fingerprints, blood patterns, and ammunition casings. Sounds like fun for the whole family.

Click here for more information about opening hours and tickets.

Photo courtesy of the organizers