Crime stories leaning heavily on forensic analysis are a staple of television drama. Not surprisingly, however, what you see on CSI and NCIS does not exactly match up with what actually happens – and after this weekend, several community members will be able to tell you that first hand.

West Virginia University’s Crime Scene Training Complex will be abuzz Saturday (May 9) with the last session of the Parent/Child Forensic Science Class, a series hosted by WVU’s Next Generation Forensic Science Initiative, which is part of the University’s K-12 STEM Outreach Program, and is offered in cooperation with the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science.

The series is a community engagement initiative that provides parents and children with the opportunity to interact in an academic environment, build and strengthen relationships through mutual interest and scientific inquiry and to learn what actually happens behind yellow crime-scene tape and in the forensic laboratory.

“This series of classes has excited the imagination of both children and their parents,” said Gerald Lang, department chair and professor of biology who conceived of the class as a way to introduce forensic science concepts to the community and attract more students to the field.

“The children have a passion and curiosity for learning,” Lang said. “By solving these forensic science challenges, they see that their future as STEM scientists is unlimited.”

Christopher Bily, instructional coordinator for forensic and investigative science, developed the curriculum and teaches the classes with the assistance of current WVU forensic science undergraduate students.

He says the seven-month-old series was popular from the beginning with a full roster of approximately 24 parents and students per class.

“Initially people are attracted to the classes because of what they have seen on television shows or in movies, but Hollywood’s representation of forensic science is not real life,” Bily said. “This series recreates authentic crime scene investigation and lab environments so that participants can have a meaningful experience with forensic and investigative science.”

The 90-minute classes are designed introduce the foundations of forensic and investigative science in a hands-on environment. Bily purposefully omitted lectures and presentations in exchange for more interactive activities. Participants are also able to use scientific laboratory equipment like digital scales and microscopes.

Class topics included footwear impression evidence, firearm identification, bloodstain pattern analysis, fingerprints and shooting reconstruction. The final class of the year, entitled “You Crack the Case,” will allow participants to apply everything they learned during the series to solve a case.

Bily, who is responsible for designing and delivering educational forensic science programs for the community, said the participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Almost all of the students from the first semester returned for the second semester classes.

He said that in his 15 years in forensic science education the parent-child series has been his most rewarding experience.

“It provides great exposure for WVU’s program and shows young people what a career as a forensic scientist is all about,” Bily said. “But it is so exciting to see parents and children working in harmony. The children often make observations that their parents don’t see. They make discoveries together.”

Bily also said that the classes benefit the undergraduate students who assist with class instruction.

“It is good practice for what our undergraduate students will eventually face when they graduate and become forensic scientists,” Bily said. “When they are asked to testify in court they will have to clearly explain complicated scientific methods to a jury that is commonly made up of non-scientists. It’s an important skill to develop.”

The department is hosting a forensic science summer camp for middle- and high-school students in June and will offer a new series of parent-child classes in the fall.

For more information, contact Christopher Bily at Chris.Bily@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

ms/05/08/15

CONTACT: Devon Copeland; Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
304.293.6867; Devon.Copeland@mail.wvu.edu

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