Class Learns About Sleuthing With Science

By Tanjua Damon

Who did it? This was the question before the Newtown High School students in the Biotechnology and Forensic Science class. The students are learning the skills they need to be forensic scientists investigating a crime scene.

At the beginning of the year students learned about biotechnology, and they learned about genetic engineering, transforming bacteria, how genes can be transferred from one organism to another, purifying proteins made by genetic engineering, PCR (polymerase change reaction),  and identifying, amplifying, and sequencing DNA.

Now teacher Nancy Contolini is introducing the students to the forensic applications of science, giving them an opportunity to be real detectives who solve crimes. Students will learn about various techniques including forgery, finger printing, foot print, hair, fiber, serology, blood typing, blood splatter prints, geology, sand/soil, glass fragments, toxicology, and looking at drugs using the Physicians Desk Reference.

When entering the classroom, it is like entering a lab or a crime scene. In one corner there is crime scene tape that has been placed around the decapitated victim. In another corner there is a windshield that has been shot at and students will have to figure out which bullet hit where first by looking at the cracks in the glass. Then there are sand samples; students have to figure out which sample fits the crime scene.

James Kaechele explained how to analyze the sand sample. Under the microscope you have to look at the size, color, and shape of the grains. It also has to be noted what type of matter – broken shells, mineral – the sand is composed of. An acid test can be used to see the calcium in the shell material, which can bubble.

“It’s something we hear a lot in the news. Most of the time it is sensationalized,” James said. “But it’s nice to know what’s happening behind the headlines so to speak. Being an informative person has its advantages.”

The class was also working on a lab looking at various samples of animal hair as well as different types of human hair.

“I love it, learning about evidence and how it works,” Rachel Romanelli said after looking at some bat hair under a microscope. “We went to the Connecticut Crime Lab. They actually have a lot of the same equipment we have here.”

Claire Heppner during the hair lab was using the diameter of the microscope field to determine the diameter of human hair samples.

“I want to do this when I get a job. It’s not really routine. It is so different each time,” she said. “There are many different careers that are possible with all the different techniques they use.”

Forensic science intrigues many of the students as a career choice because each crime or situation needing to be solved is different from the last.

“It would be such a lucrative career. So many different things are happening at once,” Mary McDow said. “There are so many different fields under forensics.”

The students are also learning skills that can be used in any area of their lives from education to careers. Some of the skills include the application of scientific methods, solving problems, accurate observations and measurements.

“It forces them to communicate their results both written and oral,” Ms Contolini said.

School resource officer Robert Koetsch has been working with the students, providing them with information about the job and how investigating works in the field.

“The students are learning how to use science to collect and analyze evidence and apply it to the law,” Ms Contolini said. “They are learning how science supports the law.”