CSI: Crime Scene Insects Comes To Hall Of Science
BY AYSEL SEKMEC

Who would have thought that insects aren't just here to give us a scare every once a while, or gross us out when least expected? They help us solve vicious crimes, some of them seemingly impossible cases.

Photo Aysel Sekmec Children and adults crowd around an exhibit showing how insects contribute to a crime scene investigation.

We might not like them and we might hardly acknowledge their existence, unless we have to, but we do know that insects are pretty much everywhere, sharing the same house, the same car, the same bedroom, sometimes even the same bed.

To understand how these tiny creatures help to solve certain cases, an exhibit called CSI: Crime Scene Insects was developed by the owner of exhibit Q, John Good, who puts together traveling exhibits such as this one.

"We wanted to showcase forensic entomology, basic science and the biology behind the application," explained Dr. Lee Goff, an expert in the field of entomology and a crime scene insect curator, who helped Good. "No matter what your background you should be able to take something away from the exhibit."

Goff is also known to have worked closely with the FBI and is a technical consultant to the show "Crime Scene Investigation" ("CSI"), which attracts millions of people to the television screen each week and which was partly one of the reasons the exhibit came about. According to Goff, the idea for the exhibit was always in people's minds, but there didn't seem to be enough interest to actually realize the idea. That changed when "CSI" was developed.

The exhibit proved to be a big success, allowing visitors to see a live fly hatchery, American cockroaches, determestid beetles, and rottenwood termites. The exhibit invites visitors into the world of all different kinds of insects and describes in detail how these little bugs help entomologists to determine the time of death of a victim for instance, or how to nail the right murderer. In one case, investigators were able to catch a murderer because a grasshopper's leg had been found on the murder weapon, establishing the presence of the murderer at the crime scene. Pictures, collecting tools and an entomologist's gear completes the showcase. What's of more interest for the children would be the fact that they get to collect their own evidence and solve their own cases.

"This exhibit is all about learning about forensic science," stated Edward Murray, weekend manager at the New York Hall of Science. "And it might also create more interest in people to consider entomology as a possible career."

Even though the exhibit is very educational and certainly introduces a new phenomenon, the question arises about how reliable entomology is. According to Goff, if a body was exposed and insects are present, and the evidence was collected accurately, entomological evidence is considered the most reliable estimate investigators can work with.

Interest in this field seems to be growing. But while Goff sees this as a growing career interest, he is convinced that entomology is something that's done part-time and not fulltime: "I don't see it as a full-time profession. I believe that it will be incorporated in a laboratory, with people that specialize in entomology."

Whether you want to go into entomology or not, the exhibit is definitely worth a visit. Children love it and parents get to enjoy the exhibit as well.

Cassandra McGonagall and Lisa Ayrs, both 38, from Flushing, both fans of the "CSI" show, revealed that one of the reasons why they like the exhibit so much is the fact that their children could touch everything without having to worry about breaking something.

"It's educational and very hands on," Ayrs said. "It is definitely worth the trip."

The exhibit will be open seven days a week until September 10 in the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.