Full disclosure–NSTA got me hooked on the CSI programs. Ordinarily I would have ignored them, but when I heard that these shows excite students about science, I had to see at least one episode. Eventually I was watching all of them regularly. (I have weaned myself off of CSI on Thursdays, but not the New York and Miami ones.)

So when given a chance to attend a session called “The Dead T-Shirt Contest” that promised to enlighten us about teaching forensic science, I had to go there, of course. Presenters Michael Lazaroff and David Rollison of Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, have created a unit in which students serve as both “murder victims” and pathologists.
Since they can’t bring dead bodies to class, they provide students with t-shirts marked with various “wounds,” such as bite marks…

bruises, and bullet and puncture wounds. (Doesn’t the teacher on the right look like a real murder victim with her eyes closed?)


Groups of teachers then became students who had to examine the evidence and determine COD (that’s cause of death for all you non-CSI viewers). As teachers debated which injuries might have caused the fatality, Michael offered teaching tips, such as not allowing students to list COD as “undetermined” unless they can justify it … giving each group of students a different COD to prevent cheating…and when students are reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, making sure they place their hands over their hearts, not their lungs.

Handouts contained diagrams like these that teachers can use in the classroom.
Michael concludes his forensic science unit by dressing a mannequin (a discard from a local department store) in a white t-shirt and white pants, all marked with wounds. He asks students to solve the crime. Next, they take part in a courtroom trial and present the evidence, with half the class serving as prosecutors and the other half as defense attorneys.
Well, I’ve had my CSI fix for today, so on to other sessions!

The NSTA Store has a corner where we can meet the authors of current and popular books. Steve Rich was here today to sign copies of his latest book Outdoor Science: A Practical Guide.
There are lots of opportunities to get outside in Philadelphia, including Fairmount Park (one of the largest urban parks in the US) and the Philadelphia Zoo (America’s first zoo). Although it is ironic that on the first day of spring, a beautiful sunny day, Steve is inside signing books and doing a session later this afternoon!

I headed over to the exhibit hall just before it opened. I was surprised to see so many eager educators waiting for the doors to open, even on the third day! Since they had still had a few minutes before the doors opened, I was able to talk to a few.

Dottie Hartman of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is attending her second NSTA national conference. “I went last year to the one in New Orleans and had so much fun and learned so much that I came here to the one in Philadelphia. I’m presenting this year. Last year, I went and had a wonderful time and got the idea maybe I should submit a lesson and present. So here I am, a first-year presenter.”
Hartman did a presentation on the physics of kite flying. She explains, “I teach high school biology and chemistry, but I’ve done formal education and informal education; this is actually an informal lesson.”  Her personal goals for the conference? Simple: “Learn, learn, and learn. Learn and share,” she says.

Wendell Badertscher and Mike Eier, both from Glenwood Middle School in Findlay, Ohio, had found a spot near the doors while they waited.  Badertscher, who teaches seventh grade life science, says, “I came to get additional resources, some specific ones as well as some general, ideology, and all the exhibitors’ booths are a good thing too. I’ve got lots of ideas, very practical, hands-on stuff I can take back.”
“I came to get kind of re-energized and renewed, learn new things, see some old friends. I met with some colleagues,” says Eier, who teaches eighth grade Earth science. “I am involved with the ACTS program through the Department of Energy, so we had a meeting and some time together. Again seeing new products, new ideas in teaching. It’s always a good boost in energy, especially at the end of the year.”