Although they may not be crime scene investigators just yet, 40 Ashe County High School students had the opportunity to play forensic sleuth this past week through a mobile science program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The mobile program came in the form of a bus that was fully decked out with the latest forensics technology. It is part of the Destiny Traveling Science Program and is the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s formal science education initiative. The mobile program offered students hands-on curriculum in biotechnology which is an emerging field.

“All the kids seem to be mesmerized by CSI shows so why not introduce them to the science and keep them interested,” forensics instructor Sarah Tugman said.

Tugman stressed the importance of introducing students to the field of biotechnology which is still a relatively new field but can offer high paying positions.

Students from an Honors Forensic Science and Criminology class participated in a hands-on exercise that investigated the case of a stolen I-pod. The class is a relatively new course offered at the high school and is primarily comprised of juniors and seniors.

In pre-lab exercises, students tested blood samples found at the crime scene and then tested it against the suspects’ blood type before narrowing the list of possible suspects down to two. These soon to be crime scene investigators also tested fingerprints and determined a pattern in their quest to solve the case.

Science Education Specialist Polly Dornette explained that the mobile science laboratory that visited the high school on Tuesday is one of two buses that travel throughout North Carolina. The buses, Destiny and Discovery, are 40-foot, 33,000-pound vehicles­­- that act as fully equipped laboratories that can accommodate up to 24 students per session.

During the day, two forensics and criminology classes participated in the hands-on exercise. Equipped with aprons, gloves, and safety goggles, students began sifting through DNA samples in order to ascertain the thief’s identity. The exercise, named “Get a Clue”, was designed as a “wet lab” which enabled students to use a DNA restriction analysis, more commonly referred to as DNA fingerprinting. DNA samples were stored in ice chest and then heated up, a necessary procedure in examining samples because of its tendency to “ball up” when cold. Samples are more accurate when they are kept linear, Dornette said.

Tuesday’s CSI module is one of 16 offered through the mobile science program. There are also modules that are focused breast cancer and protein analysis but they are all biotechnology focused. Teachers also receive training in how to utilize the equipment and conduct pre-lab exercises in the classroom with students before stepping foot in the mobile lab.

“The main purpose of these modules is to introduce students to various biotechnology fields. The equipment that is on these buses is really expensive so it really is incredible that we can bring it to places like Ashe County and let students have the opportunity to use it through hands-on exercises,” Dornette said.

For more information on the mobile science program, visit www.moreheadplanetarium.org/go/destiny.