Broken glass, a knife, blood, and a body....this is just all part of a day in the life of a criminalist. I teach forensic science to a great group of high school students grades 11th and 12th. I developed and started this course just three short years ago. Since then, there are kids lining up to take this course. I was even asked to develop a second course in forensic science for the students that were wishing to continue with the course material. I have added that course as of last year and it has been incredibly successful. These classes are full every semester. I teach in a district that qualifies as a low-income school district. We take every opportunity to make the most of what we have for the students and they appreciate everything we do for them.
How do you photograph the evidence without a camera? How do you provide photographic evidence to the court without the pictures? I am missing a key part to the crime scene segment of my lesson plans. I set up elaborate crime scenes for the students to process. They are just in awe. They take it so seriously. I use an old locker room in one of the gymnasiums. They get to glove-up, document the scene, take notes, bag and tag the evidence, call in the medical examiner to take away the body (fake of course), and process the evidence in the lab. They even get to have a mock trial. We only have one problem. There aren't any pictures. The students are missing out on one key element of processing the scene and that is taking photographs of the evidence and using them during the mock trial. We are in need of a quality camera so the students can take pictures of what they see. Sometimes the camera sees what the eyes do not. I think the students will appreciate this piece of equipment so much and will use it to its fullest potential.
The only resource my students need is a quality digital camera to take the crime scene photographs. Right now we are not taking the pictures and the students are just drawing the scene and collecting the evidence. I know this will benefit my students by allowing them to see the full picture of crime scene processing. They have been missing the key step of photography. This will allow them to understand how measurement, reference point, and quality photographic representation is crucial is crime scene processing, as well as, the trying of the case. Students will also learn proper care of equipment in the field as crime scene technicians. There are so many lessons the students can learn from one piece of equipment. I intend to take advantage of all of them!
Your help will ensure that my students will have the resources they need to fully experience what a career in criminalists is like. Students need to see themselves in different career paths in science and how they can serve society in a positive way. I believe that students are interested in science that just haven't had a chance to put themselves in it hands-on. This is their chance to fully realize their potential to positively affect society and you can help me do that.
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