At Shadow Ridge, students have many choices when it comes to electives, and forensic science is just one of many. In a forensics class, students have the opportunity to learn about things like fingerprint analysis, DNA profiling, ballistics, and so much more. Students get hands-on experience with tools and equipment that are used in real crime scenes.

Robert Stahlke, the forensics teacher at Shadow Ridge stated, “Students do fingerprinting, blood spatter, crime scene photography, DNA analysis, and at the end of the year they process a mock crime scene that goes to trial with the senior government class.”

Something about forensics that interests many students is that they are able to work on mock crime scenes throughout the year where they gather and analyze evidence and piece it all together. It’s a hands-on way to apply forensic techniques and understand more thoroughly. Mock crime scenes allow students to apply the knowledge and techniques they learn throughout the school year.

Sophomore, Jaden Watkins stated, “The projects we do in class aren’t the same as regular class projects. Our projects are group based or partner based. At the end of the year we have a mock crime scene that we go collect evidence from that we have learned to process throughout the school year. We also look at fingerprints and process DNA to solve problems.”

Students work together to figure things out and they all help each other learn and understand the material throughout the year. At the end of the year, students show all of the things they have learned and used throughout the class in their mock crime scene that goes to trial with the senior government class.

Watkins continued, “There are a bit of notes the first year and we kind of learn the gist of the class and then the second year it all pays off because we can do a lot more. My favorite project I have done in the class was probably the ballistics lab. We got to look at bullets and examine things like their ridges and grooves and their firing pin impression to match it to the unknown bullet we were given to see if it came to a match or not.” 

Watkins highlights the fact that in the first year of forensics, students are being prepared for the bigger things they will explore in the second year of the class. She talks about a lab that was interesting and shows how the class can show a lot about forensic science.