Sean Redmond

TV may be constantly getting a bad rap, but let’s face it, sometimes it can be pretty entertaining. Take "CSI," for instance: it’s the most successful television franchise in history, reaching sixty-seven million viewers per week. That’s a lot of wannabe crime scene investigators out there—and if you count yourself as one of them, you might want to check out the "CSI" exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry before it closes up shop and heads to Boston September 3. The exhibit puts you in the shoes of your favorite television heroes—who often tune in on video to help you out—as you attempt to solve one of three unique cases, utilizing elements of biology, chemistry and physics as you move from a recreated crime scene to two interactive labs, an autopsy room and, finally, to the mockup office of "CSI" honcho Gil Grissom himself. Attendees learn about everything from blood spatter to DNA testing, bullet match-ups, the wonders of UV lighting and the workings of microscope examinations. You can even get copies of your own latent fingerprints. And while the cases aren’t terribly difficult to decipher, per se—by the end any notions of unexpected conclusions or surprise twists are spoiled through repeated bludgeons to your skull—the information presented is genuinely interesting and the interactivity should provide a valuable link between playing "CSI" from your couch and actually learning something about real-world forensic science.

"CSI: The Experience" shows at the Museum of Science and Industry, 57th and Lake Shore, (773)684-1414, through September 3.

(2007-08-28)

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