Bridge the gap between TV fantasy and realistic crime.

"CSI: The Experience" has already made several stops around the country after starting out in Chicago last year. The travelling exhibit is currently entertaining and educating visitors at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St Paul. Based on the hit show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, "CSI: The Experience" lets teenagers and adults get into the role of a forensic scientist.

There are three mock crime scenes to choose from, and visitors start by making observations of the scene itself. "There are several items that are scattered about — some might be important and some might not be important," David Peterson told the Star Tribune. "That's pretty much like real life." Peterson is a forensic scientist at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

After gathering information and analyzing evidence, visitors eventually present their findings to Gil Grissom (William Petersen) on a computer. Grissom grades the case the amateur forensic scientist has made to determine if it will hold up in court. "One of the things the exhibit does well is debunking stuff that you'll see in the show," said Joe Imholte, the museum's director of special exhibits. "It's never this easy in real life."

Peterson agreed. While CSI wraps a case up in an hour, it can take two weeks to three months to process an actual BCA case. "They do it faster," he explained. "They do it with pizazz — it's just amazing all of the lighting stuff that they use, just incredible. But that's entertainment." The museum exhibit, he said, does a good job of showing a more true-to-life look into forensic investigation. "The scenes portrayed here appear to be quite realistic in the way they are laid out and presented," Peterson said. As a man who has investigated a lot of crimes in Minnesota, he added, "The only things missing are the 20-below temperatures and the snowstorm."

The original article is from the Star Tribune. "CSI: The Experience" will run at the Science Museum of Minnesota through January 4. For more information, visit the museum's official website.

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