TIMES SQUARE — New Yorkers interested in crime scenes and drama crime shows can get a close-up look behind the police tape this weekend.
“CSI: The Experience," opening at Discovery Times Square Saturday, features a maze of dead body dummies, fake blood, bones and autopsy rooms for visitors to analyze during an interactive exhibit meant to simulate the experience of the CBS television show "CSI."
“It’s fabulous,” exhibit director Christoph Rahofer said about the event, which has already traveled to several countries before landing in New York.
“It’s about the interdisciplinary nature of forensic science, a mixture of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and even common sense.”
During the exhibit, spectators can take on the role of a crime scene investigator and pick one of three mysteries to solve by taking notes at the scene. The scenarios include a dead woman behind a motel, a pile of bones found in the desert and a car that crashed into the side of a building.
After taking notes, guests can visit up to 15 different forensic lab stations designed to immerse themselves in the science of solving crimes.
At the stations, exhibit-goers decipher text messages from a broken cell phone, analyze the decomposition of a body from surrounding bugs using forensic entomology, or solve a cold case using DNA testing.
Other stations include forensic biology, toxicology, tire print analysis, shoe print analysis, blood spatter analysis and firearms analysis. A separate autopsy station has a “dead” dummy waiting to be poked and prodded. Videos play throughout the entire analysis process, featuring members of the original "CSI" television show, set in Las Vegas.
By the end of the exhibit, the spectators will have “solved” the mystery of one crime.
“It’s not just about seeing some artifacts,” Rahofer said. “In this case it’s about having a comprehensive story built into it, so it’s designed more like a movie or a game.”
While the exhibit will be fascinating to "CSI," "Law & Order" and other crime show fans, Rahofer admits that the scene may not be for everyone.
“We recommend age 12 and above, even though younger children do come,” he said. “The crime scenes are of different intensity.”
Rahofer added that he generally gives younger children in the third crime scene to solve — a pile of bones found in a desert — because it’s less graphic.
“There’s no blood to be found at the scene,” he said. “It’s low exposure.”
"CSI: The Experience" starts Oct. 1 at Discovery Times Square, at 226 W. 44th St. between Broadway and Eighth Avenue.
