The next time you’re relaxing in Miami at one of the resort hotels Florida offers its travelers, business and vacationers alike, and you’re watching one of the several dozen police procedures on television, and you may think about stopping into the Miami Science Museum Running through January, 2010, they have an exhibit about the life of bugs who solve crimes! The exhibit is titled CSI: Crime Scene Insects, and is a look into the world of forensic entomology. The exhibit was, in fact, inspired the show CSI: Miami and examines via an interactive exhibit the way crime investigations use the science of forensic entomology to determine when a crime occurred.
Museum patrons will see actual crime scene insects, such as blowflies and maggots, demisted beetles (which eat flesh), and carrion beetles. Crime scenes will be recreated to show how police collect the evidence and solve crimes. Because of the interest in crime scene investigations, as well as the public’s ability to go into court rooms via cable news channels, and so on, the Miami Science Museum decided to offer the guests an opportunity to learn firsthand about how the insects used in investigations actually behave.
The history of forensic entomology may be dated to China in the 13th Century. The various insects — beetles, wasps, flies, and others — provide the clues an investigator needs to tie the victims and suspects together at a crime scene, helping to fix the time of a crime or how toxins and drugs may have been used at the scene.
As a visitor to the museum, you’ll be able to examine recreated scenes for yourself, collecting evidence, analyzing and drawing conclusions about the crimes. You’ll be able to see the stages of decomposition and what role insects may play in it, demonstrating why if you want to be an expert in forensics you also need to be an expert in bugs.
Certainly, this exhibit may not be to everyone’s taste, but for those curious about crime scenes, and there must be a ton of us, considering the number of shows on air, the Miami Science Museum is the place to check out through the end of January!
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