We’ve been having a lot of fun in Aspire lately! Our Year 9-10 Aspire students have been diving into the world of criminology and forensics, exploring how investigative technologies have evolved over time, from early polygraph tests to fingerprinting, and the breakthroughs in DNA analysis.

Lately, we’ve been looking at careers in the field, starting with forensic anthropology. Students got their hands dirty (literally) by excavating 'bones' from our garden, analysing their findings, and piecing together the identity of a fictional missing person. We then stepped into the world of CSI, experimenting with blood spatter analysis using red paint and a variety of objects to test how blood spatters are created with different actions, objects, and levels of force. We’ve also been testing our detective skills with tyre and shoe impression analysis, using toy cars of varying sizes, tyre patterns, and wheelbases to make predictions about directions of travel.

It’s been a really fun and engaging few weeks of hands-on learning, and we can’t wait to see where the students’ investigations take them next!

Ashleigh Cartledge
Aspire Academic Enrichment Coordinator