Amateur detectives uncover CSI exhibit.

Byline: Nat Levy The Register-Guard

Can you catch a killer?

The new Crime Scene Investigation exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland puts amateur detectives and forensic scientists to the test. The exhibit, which opened May 23 and runs through Sept. 13, takes visitors through the process of analyzing a crime scene, pinpointing suspects and catching criminals, as made popular by the CBS television show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

"Since I've been here it's truly one of the best exhibits I've seen," OMSI spokesman Lee Dawson said.

Dawson said the exhibit will be a blast for fans of the show, but people who aren't familiar with the program can enjoy it, too. Dawson has never seen "CSI," but he said he's gone through the exhibit several times.

The case begins with a briefing on a video monitor. People are then told to select one of three crime scenes.

In "A House Collided," a car runs through the living room window of a house in a quiet suburb. A man sits, slumped over, in the driver's seat with his seat belt on. The doors remain shut, but the windshield is shattered.

Sprawled about the living room are muddy shoe prints, drops of blood and a stain near a sofa. A pizza box is open with pepperoni pizza spilled on the floor. A beer bottle lies near the car door, and a hand print of blood (or is it pizza sauce ) is found on the car hood.

In "Who Got Served?" a young woman has been found dead in an alley behind an old Las Vegas motel. The woman, dressed in a waitress outfit and wearing a nametag with the name "Penny," lies beneath an overflowing trash bin.

A tire tread runs across her stomach, and tossed nearby is a photo of her, which has been ripped in half. No other injuries are visible. A handbag and a cell phone are among the trash.

In "No Bones About It!" a hiker stumbles across what looks like a human skull sticking out of the ground. Silt and debris partially bury the object. Other bones are scattered underneath the dirt.

The skull has a visible hole in it and among the remains, there are still tattered remnants of a coat and what appears to be a backpack.

After the people have walked through their selected crime scene and gathered clues, it's off to the lab.

There, investigators can test all sorts of evidence, from ballistics - which is identifying the source of a bullet - to discovering the origin of shoe prints and tire tracks.

Once the investigators have developed a hypothesis, they proceed into a simulated office of the show's head detective, Gil Grissom.

At this point, investigators enter their data into the computer, and on video Grissom will tell them whether or not they have cracked the case.

Dawson said a lot of people go through all three crime scenes. Each scene takes about 45 minutes to complete, and there is no extra cost for entering the exhibit.

For more information, visit the OMSI Web site at www.omsi.edu.