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CSI Auburn is a multidisciplinary outreach effort of the Auburn University Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work that promotes science literacy and highlights social science career opportunities in forensic anthropology and criminology.
Participants include 5th-8th grade students who are invited to be a forensic scientist for a day as they are guided through a series of active learning stations led by Auburn University faculty and student facilitators. Each station presents “clues” and age-appropriate information that might be found at a crime scene such as human fingerprints, mammalian bones and teeth, and reproductions of human skeletons showing key identifying features of age, sex/gender, stature and traumatic injuries. Through CSI Auburn, elementary and middle school students gain insight into potential career fields that they may not have imagined before.
Auburn University student facilitators learn new skills that may translate into future forensics careers while building valuable leadership and communication experience needed for any field. Anthropology (Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology) students and Sociology (Criminology) students serve as team leaders who assist with training the next generation of facilitators as well as educating elementary and middle school students.
Since 2011, CSI Auburn has partnered with the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts, AU Museum of Natural History, and Alabama public educators across the state to provide students of all ages and public-school teachers with a truly unique and enriching experience.