By featuring forensic science, the HHMI-funded summer science program, called Jump Start, captures the interest of students enthralled with popular television programs such as CSI and Crossing Jordan, says Kaci Thompson, director of undergraduate research and internship programs at the university's college of life sciences. It also happens to incorporate aspects of several scientific disciplines—including anthropology, biology, chemistry, criminology and psychology.

After spending four days studying the techniques of the forensic scientist, students peer inside meticulously crafted dollhouse crime scenes depicting victims, locations and lines of evidence. They debate possible scenarios. "I don't think he was whacked," says one student. "He's not in an awkward position at all." Another adds, "I think if he was dragged, his arms would be stretched back." Later, they assess their powers of deduction when instructors reveal what each scene actually represents.

Thomas P. Mauriello, a professor of forensic sciences in the university's department of criminology and criminal justice, conceived of the dollhouses 10 years ago after seeing a similar set at the State of Maryland's medical examiner's office, where they are used for training. Mauriello designed and furnished the dollhouses, with the help of graphic artists, to use as a teaching tool in his undergraduate class, Introduction to Criminalistics. He says the structures help him integrate the techniques of forensic science into a cohesive and realistic process.

The Jump Start students, juniors and seniors hailing from the greater Washington, D.C., area, are selected on the basis of grades, teacher recommendations and essays. According to Thompson, the program doesn't necessarily aim to encourage students to pursue the field of forensic science. Rather, it tries to show students how knowledge of a broad range of scientific methods can be used to solve real-world problems.

Katherine Beling, a senior at Baltimore's Catholic High School, liked the approach. "This gave us a chance to use our own imaginations rather than just look at DNA samples under a microscope." Now in its fourth year, the program also includes two additional one-week high school courses, one focused on biotechnology and the other on animal behavior and physiology.

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Photos: Molly Roberts

Reprinted from the HHMI Bulletin,
December 2002, pages 40-41.
©2002 Howard Hughes Medical Institute