It’s a crime what kids are learning these days. At NKU, that’s a very good thing, indeed.

The success of the University’s first Middle School Forensics Camp brought eighty-four students from three dozen area schools to campus.  There they participated in hands-on activities that showed them how science is used in criminal justice.

The concept for the camp was inspired by the popularity of shows such as “CSI,” CSI: Miami,” “Forensics Files,”  “Crossing Jordan,” and others.  Science as a primary tool in crime-fighting is the focus of these programs and part of the appeal is the high-tech approach used in the exposition of the story lines.  With its state-of-the-art Natural Science Center and a highly enthusiastic team of NKU faculty and area middle school teachers to lead students, the Forensics Science Camp was prepared to offer its “investigators” challenging mysteries.

While the structure of the camp was being planned, an invitation to the camp was issued to area schools.  Each school was permitted to nominate two students to attend.  Each student had to secure a recommendation from his or her science teacher,  receive an endorsement from the school principal, and write an essay outlining the reasons he or she would like to participate in the camp. 

Applications arrived in an avalanche and essays expostulated energy and enthusiasm:

• “I will be a good candidate, because I really want to learn about crime scene investigation work.  Not other students will have as much passion and yearning for knowledge.  My straight As and huge effort will really contribute to the program.”

•  “I have always dreamed of being a forensic scientist, searching for evidence to help bring justice to someone.  It would mean so much to me if you accepted me into this camp.  I think everyone should make a difference in the world.”

•  “I want to open my eyes to greater opport qunities in the future and believe that the knowledge that I learn at camp will be just one of many footsteps in my path of self-discovery.”

• “I really like ‘CSI’ but know this is just TV.  Solving crimes takes a lot of time and hard work!  I would like to understand more of the background of forensics.”

•  “Science inspires me to try new things.”

• “ I believe this would be the best week of my summer.  I have never been to a summer camp or attended classes at a university.  Both would be new experiences for me.  If I am given the opportunity to attend this class I will work hard at learning and having fun.”

In the meantime, NKU faculty worked to frame the content of the courses in crime scenarios.  Science faculty developed experiments appropriate to students’ grade levels and curricula while integrating the resources available at NKU.  Faculty from the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice fleshed out the scenarios with an array of scenes and suspicious circumstances,  NKU staff and students were recruited to portray witnesses, suspects, and in some cases, bodies.

Funding for the camp was provided by the Ashland, Toyota, and Federated Foundations and was administered by NKU’s Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics (CINSAM).  Betty Stephens, CINSAM Outreach Coordinator, and Dr. C. Dale Elifrits,  Director of Pre-Engineering and Outreach, served as “deputy chiefs” in coordinating the planning and organization of the camp.

Part of the design of the camp was to provide an expanded experience for selected middle school teachers as well.  The week preceding the Forensics Camp, teachers trained on the content to be covered in a special “Improving Educational Quality” course provided by Northern Kentucky University through a grant provided by the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Council o Postsecondary Education.  Teachers honed their skills in science education and were better prepared to guide their teams through the exercises planned specifically for the camp. Participating teachers included Tim Schneider from Campbell County Middle School; Pat Brownfield from Philip Sharp Middle School; Marie Smith from Newport Middle School; Hallie Hundemeyer from Two Rivers Middle School; Lennea Thomas from Lincoln Elementary School; Jeanette Holmer from Woodland Middle School; Rebecca Vanlandingham from Grant County Middle School; Jim Hicks from Turkeyfoot Middle School; and Brenda Stone from St. Mary Elementary School.

The first day of the camp, the students split into four teams, armed with notebooks, official “NKU-CSI” I.D. badges and their own manuals on proper criminal procedure (developed specifically for the camp by Criminal Justice faculty).  They were introduced to the faculty and the teachers heading up their individual teams.  Finally, they toured the Science Center to visit the labs and learn about the science that they would be applying in their work.  When they arrived for the next session of the camp,  they discovered it was much like real life:  each day presents a new challenge.

Click the following pictures to see them enlarged.

Click here to read about the the different crime scenarios the students had to solve.