School Program: Forensic Science

A unique opportunity to introduce your students to the science of contemporary police work. (Suitable for grades 4-12, Post-Secondary, Adult ESL; two hours in length.)

In this program, students have the opportunity to solve a crime by examining and testing various pieces of evidence, duplicating the work of a forensic identification unit. This program begins with a brief tour of the museum’s main gallery, formerly Vancouver’s Coroner’s Courtroom, where students are introduced to the rich history of the Vancouver Police Department. Students then proceed to age-appropriate hands-on activities that have been designed to help students gain an appreciation for how science is used everyday to solve crimes.

There are two different crime scenes to choose between, involving different types of evidence:

Burglary Scene (Suitable for all ages) - Evidence includes fingerprints, ballistics (bullets), chromatography, fibre samples and more.

Kidnapping Scene (Suitable for grade 8 and up) - Evidence includes DNA, impression evidence, blood spatter, crime scene documentation and more.

This program is led by a museum educator and is two hours in length; the cost for this program is $6.50 per student. (One chaperone will be admitted at no charge for each five participants. Additional chaperones will be charged $5/person.) ESL activity and vocabulary sheets are available upon request.

Please contact the museum or use our online booking form to book a visit.