I am so grateful that we live in a community full of active homeschoolers, we are often so busy that I find it difficult to fit in ‘school’. I am also grateful that we live in a location that offers many fun and often free field trips. This years’ first field trip fun was scheduled at the Brevard County sheriff’s office criminal investigation services (CSI), we were all very excited for this adventure.

Field Trip: Criminal Investigation Services (CSI)

We attended a field trip at the sheriff’s office CSI unit last year and my kids were stoked to have the opportunity to go again. They were also thrilled to see their homeschool friends!

The group was split in two and our group started with a chat. The kids learned what the CSI unit was, what education a person needed to work there, why this is an important job, and how criminals can be tracked down. The sheriff’s were great with the kids, they held their attention really well and truly seemed to enjoy helping our children learn about their job.

Fingerprint fun.

The kids rubbed their hands on their faces to get oil on their hands and made a hand print on a special paper.

Then they dusted for prints!

Next, we headed upstairs to learn about the different types of fingerprints. We were also introduced to the database that stores fingerprints. I was impressed that they still rely on a magnifying glass to really get a feel for the fingerprints and make a match…it isn’t all technology like you see on T.V.

This machine helps to preserve evidence. It dries out wet/soiled items.

Mobil Crime Lab

The weather was crummy on this trip so we were unable to view the mobile crime lab, these photos are from our trip last year.

Special glasses were fun for the kids….

And helpful to see prints in the dark!

We also learned about how they process evidence, avoid cross contamination, and how they work really well together as a team. I highly recommend a CSI field trip!