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Crime Scene Science Fair Projects

csibookShows like CSI, Law & Order and NCIS have made forensic science a popular topic among students. These experiments allow you to experience the real science behind the TV shows. Use techniques that real Crime Scene Investigators and Forensic Scientists use in the field! The Science Fair Basics section gives you all the tools you need for a successful science fair project, whether you use a project in the book or not. And while you’re at it find out about careers in forensic science and get tips from the original crime scene investigator – Sherlock Holmes!

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–10—This book does a superb job of giving new life to the boring old projects students do year after year. Harris begins with an explanation of forensic science and how it’s applied in the everyday world, followed by a discussion of how to plan for a successful project. The projects involve lie detection, lifting fingerprints, recovering data from burned documents, and so on; they use supplies that are easy to obtain and, for the most part, inexpensive. Experiments that require adult supervision are clearly marked, and dynamic color photos and drawings on every spread add to the volume’s energetic feel. Add-ons, like the history of DNA fingerprinting or an excerpt from Sherlock Holmes, make for a bit of pleasure reading. The author’s concise, lively style will even engage students who aren’t fond of reading nonfiction. A great addition to libraries looking for more science-fair books.—Esther Keller, I.S. 278, Marine Park, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher 

Blood, gore, and mystery—now, that’s way cool! Kids just love crime scene investigations, and they’ll get a thrill from turning their passion into a blue-ribbon science fair project. This fantastic color collection presents more than 20 great experiments, broken into exciting topics such as blood and guts, eyewitness accounts, and physical evidence. Best of all, children use actual CSI techniques: they’ll lift fingerprints, extract DNA, record skid marks, and see what a few key clues can reveal about a crime. Then they get to analyze the data, and come to their own conclusions. And don’t worry: there are no real crime scenes, dead bodies, or even suspects involved! (For example, an old steak demonstrates the process of decomposition.) In addition to the awesome projects, there’s tons of fun CSI history, careers, and cases.
Published in 2006 by Lark Books.