CALEB Project & Science Club hosts interactive CSI workshop

Members of the “Called to Academic Leadership Excellence and Building character and confidence” (CALEB) Project & Science Club met at the University of Missouri School of Medicine on Saturday, Nov. 2, for an interactive crime scene investigation event.

Led by Allison Nesbitt, PhD, associate professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, club participants embarked on a hands-on workshop, “Uncover the Truth: The Case of Jessica Black,” to solve the fictional mystery of a hiker found deceased in mid-Missouri.

CALEB Science Club students explored forensic science and crime scene investigation by rotating through six interactive stations: evidence and investigation, mapping, fingerprint analysis, DNA, autopsy, and toxicology. Assisted by MU School of Medicine faculty, graduate students and volunteers, participants read investigator reports, analyzed evidence, recorded their findings and used critical thinking to piece together clues.

Prisha Yadav, a sixth grader from John Warner Middle School in Columbia, Missouri, is participating in her first year in the CALEB Science Club.

“I liked seeing different ways of how real-life detectives figure out crimes like the one we investigated,” said Yadav. “We all got to experiment with so many different things and it was a lot of fun.”

Camryn Emanuel, an eighth grader from Jefferson Middle School in Columbia, Missouri, is in midst of her third year with the CALEB Science Club. Emanuel and her fellow student club members created the idea to conduct the recent crime scene investigation event. 

“I really liked how we got to figure out the crime and all of the investigation activities really interested me,” said Emanuel.

Adapted from the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence’s 2024 National Forensic Science Week Murder Mystery Event, the CALEB Science Club workshop was organized by Sean Greer, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, Deborah Neidich, PhD, Sarah Zaleski, PhD, lecturer of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, and graduate students Nadine Steer, MSc, and Emma Cooney.

Founded by Ellis Ingram, MD, emeritus senior associate dean, and his wife, Pamela, the CALEB Science Club is overseen by Granny’s House, a charitable non-profit organization in mid-Missouri. It has helped educate and engage local students for nearly 30 years, allowing local students from fifth grade through high school to gain interactive, hands-on experience and learn more about science, medicine and healthcare.