Sixth Graders Investigate Forensic Science

By Susan Coney

With hit television shows such as CSI, Law and Order, and Numbers gaining in popularity it is no surprise that a visit from a New York detective created quite a stir in Margita Savo and Arline Lathrop’s sixth grade classes at the Reed School.

Detective Lieutenant Doug Buschel, of Harrison, N.Y., visited the classes to bring the world of forensic science to the students. Detective Buschel told the children, “You may be surprised that math and science are such a big part of police work. Forensic science is a big part of police work today. It’s made our work a lot easier and it’s a lot easier to catch the bad guy.”

The detective went on to talk about what trace evidence was and how it is used in police work. The students were full of questions and comments and it was clear this was a topic of great interest for all of them.

After informing them of the latest technology involved in investigative work, the students had the opportunity to test their own forensic skills. Detective Buschel showed the students his fingerprinting kit and described the correct way to take fingerprint samples and how to examine them.

Black paper was passed out to each student and they proceeded to press their fingers in a small amount of white chalk dusk, rather than the usual fingerprint ink, which easily stains. The students carefully rolled their fingers on the black paper to create a pristine fingerprint. Next, they examined their own fingerprints using a handheld magnifying glass, allowing them to note all the swirls and individual markers made by their own prints. One student who had a cut on his finger was surprised to see how clearly that mark showed up on his fingerprint.

Detective Buschel emphasized that the taking and examining of fingerprints was just a small portion of the type of forensic science used in police investigative work today. Many of the children said they hoped to become forensic scientists one day. Sixth grader Mara Scallon said, “It is a good learning experience in math and science. It would be a really cool job.” Emily Teri share her enthusiasm saying, “I want to be a forensic scientist when I grow up so I think it’s really neat.”

Detective Buschel’s message to the students stressed that they have good math, science, and computer skills if they would like to pursue any type of law enforcement or forensic science career. He enlightened and informed them about many of the newest areas of technology in police work and gave them an insight as to what investigative work was really like.