When friends ask David Peterson whether the hit TV show “CSI” is anything like his job as a forensic scientist at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, he always gives the same reply: “We can do a lot of what they do, but how they do it is all Hollywood.”

Fans can see exactly what he means at the Science Museum of Minnesota’s new “CSI: The Experience,” which opens Wednesday for a three-month run. The special exhibit, included in the St. Paul museum’s regular admission price, draws on real science and Hollywood make-believe to pull visitors into the world of crime-scene investigation.

Peterson joined Joe Imholte, the museum’s director of special exhibits, for a sneak peek at “CSI: The Experience” last week, when workers had just passed the halfway point of installation. Peterson was keen to compare the exhibit with his work at the BCA, where he supervises the crime-scene program as well as labs that do things such as analyze latent prints and tool marks from homicides.
“The goal is to become a forensic scientist,” Imholte explained, “so you need to solve the crime.”

It’s a fake crime, of course, just like on the TV show. But that doesn’t make it any less interesting.
After a video greeting from Gil Grissom, the forensic guru played by William Petersen on “CSI,” visitors are directed to one of three mock crime scenes whose titles are as creative as their subject matter. “A House Collided” features a car with a body behind the wheel; the driver took a wrong turn into a living room. “No Bones About It” shows skeletal remains getting a killer suntan in the desert sand, and “Who Got Served?” stars an aspiring young actress whose final performance apparently took place in an alley.

(Parents should note that, like the TV show, the exhibit includes graphic content, which can be previewed for appropriateness at www.smm.org/csi.)
Using a form as a guide, visitors write down their observations of the crime scene as the first step toward figuring out what happened.

“There are several items that are scattered about — some might be important and some might not be important,” Peterson said as he observed the dearly departed starlet. “That’s pretty much like real life.”
But it’s also like an episode of “CSI.”

“As Grissom says over and over again, you have to follow the evidence,” Imholte said. “You can’t make a decision and utilize what you’re learning to justify that decision; you have to continue to analyze what you’re collecting and let the evidence tell the story of what actually happened.”

Peterson interjected, “Unlike detectives who make up their mind ahead of time — and we tell them nooo. … ”

Visitors move to the crime lab to analyze all the evidence with the video-driven help of “CSI” characters and actual scientists, such as a blood-spatter expert. Answers await to all kinds of questions: What size bullet was used to shoot the victim? What boot created a shoe track? Where did a carpet fiber come from?

Then it’s on to the autopsy room to find out icky things such as what was in the victim’s stomach. Pizza, anyone?

Once all of the evidence has been examined, visitors present their case to Grissom using a computer. It’s decidedly tougher than just guessing that Professor Plum did it with the candlestick in the billiard room. Grissom grades the work in specific areas and decides if it will pass muster in court or if — like the victim — would-be forensic scientists have hit a dead end.

Even though the exhibit is based on “CSI” and fictional cases, it does offer a reality check.

“One of the things the exhibit does well is debunking stuff that you’ll see in the show,” Imholte said. “It’s never this easy in real life.”
While “CSI” typically wraps up everything neatly in an hour, including commercials, an actual BCA case can take two weeks to three months to process, Peterson said. And the lab work is never as visually exciting as “CSI” depicts with fancy computer-generated special effects.

“They do it faster,” Peterson said. “They do it with pizazz — it’s just amazing all of the lighting stuff that they use, just incredible. But that’s entertainment.”

“CSI: The Experience” did make a good impression on the forensic scientist.

“The scenes portrayed here appear to be quite realistic in the way they are laid out and presented,” Peterson said. Then, he added, with the experience of someone who has investigated many Minnesota crimes: “The only things missing are the 20-below temperatures and the snowstorm.”
Randy A. Salas • 612-673-4542.