Viewing ‘CSI’ in a new light
by Kevin Smith
PASADENA – Television crime dramas are designed to make viewers feel like they’re in the middle of the action.
But what if you could physically walk into an autopsy room, participate in pathology and DNA analysis and gather digital evidence to solve a crime?
Welcome to “CSI: The Experience.”
The traveling, hand-on exhibit, based on the hit CBS TV series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” is currently on display at the California Science Center in Exposition Park in Los Angeles.
Produced by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, the exhibit allows visitors to track down evidence, build a case and present the results of their investigation.
The 6,000-square-foot display brings to life real scientific principles and the most advanced scientific techniques used today by crime scene investigators and forensic scientists.
And the bilingual signs and graphics that lead participants through this one-of-a-kind experience were created by Pasadena-based Hunt Design.
“The challenge for us was to tell a story in this great, immersive exhibit,” said Jennifer Bressler, a principal and project director with Hunt Design. “If you were to hang something on the wall of a science lab … what would it say and what would it look like?”
All told, Hunt Design created about 140 elements for the display, including banners, graphic panels, interactive copy, lightboxes, lab signs and crime scene cards.
“The exhibit is broken into rooms and it introduces visitors to three active crime scenes,” Bressler explained. “They then go off into three different groups and try to solve the crimes.”
Charlie Walter, chief operating officer for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, said Hunt’s role was crucial.
“They are the glue that holds it all together,” he said. Working with Hunt, and especially Jennifer, was outstanding. They had the secret of success for the exhibit. They were able to engage visitors as they walk through and really grab their curiosity and get them motivated to become a CSI themselves.”
Hunt Design worked alongside Bob Weis Design Island Associates, the exhibit’s designer and media producer. The exhibit was developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, CBS Consumer Products, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and the National Science Foundation.
“CSI: The Experience” is a free exhibition at the California Science Center and runs through April 28 as part of a national tour of science museums that is expected to last seven years.
“It’s been received hugely well,” Walter said. “It opened in Chicago in May 2007, and since then it’s traveled to Boston, Minnesota and now it’s in Los Angeles. Next it will be going to Portland and then to Fort Worth.”
Founded in 1977. Hunt Design Associates works with recreational venues, museums, themed attractions, cities and retail/multi-use developers.
Hunt’s clients include Kennedy Space Center, Disney Clear Channel Exhibitions, Los Angeles International Airport and the Los Angeles Zoo, among others.
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