It would have been a crime if Laurie Birner of Buffalo had missed the latest exhibit at the Buffalo Museum of Science, "CSI: The Experience."

Birner is a huge fan of the hit CBS television series upon which the traveling exhibit is based.

"I do enjoy the shows. I'm like an armchair CSI investigator," said Birner, who accompanied her daughter and 4-year-old grandson to a preview of the exhibit Friday evening.

The show, which opens to the general public today, allows visitors to investigate three rather realistically staged crimes, and process the evidence at different lab stations using real forensic techniques favored by police in crime scene investigations to solve the crimes.

Amy Biber, a member of the museum staff, said the exhibit was created in collaboration with CBS Productions and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, which developed the exhibit.

"There are three different crime scenes that our guest can choose from after they've watched the introductory video," Biber explained.

The first scene, called "A House Collided," features a car that crashed into the room of a house.

"It's not a whole lot of blood and gore by any means, but there are some traces of blood in this particular crime scene, and you do need to pick up on where it is and how it's actually dropped onto the floor and other areas to determine what the source of the blood was," said Biber.

The abundant clues become very important later once patrons begin processing the evidence throughout the rest of the exhibit.

David and Susan Walters of Lackawanna brought their 14-year-old daughter, Bailey, and two sons, Jacob, 12, and Joshua, 8. The Walterses were particularly engrossed in the second crime scene in the exhibit, called "Who Got Served," which featured the body of a woman in an alleyway near a dumpster. The Walterses said they had no reservations about bringing their children.

Jumanne Pitts of Buffalo brought along his 5-year-old daughter, Janaya.

"I saw what they were offering here, and I thought we would check it out, [and] put our investigative skills to the test," said Pitts said.

"[Janaya] wants to be an engineer or an architect, so I figured we could exercise our brains a little bit. I thought it might have been a little bit intense at first, because they had the mannequin [representing] the dead body and she said: 'Daddy, is that real?' I said, 'No. Are you all right?' and she said, 'I'm fine,'" he recalled.

"I think she's getting a little tired now, so we'll wrap the case up," Pitts added.

The third crime scene, called "No Bones About It," features the skeletal remains of a victim left in the desert.

The scene titles are based on the somewhat humorous puns used in the episode titles of the "CSI" shows.

Biber said the exhibit can be instructional for younger children but is ideal for those age 12 and up.

"We're trying to inspire a curiosity in the sciences at the museum and this is a great way to expose kids, as well as adults, into different areas of science. Especially for kids, this might generate an interest in a career path in the different areas of science. This exhibit might produce some of our future CSI investigators," Biber said.

"Forensics isn't just about dead bodies. It's about the evidence that's found at the crime scene. So, [with] a cell, you can go through the phone and see when the last text message came in, when the last call was made and who it came from and that's a critical piece of evidence in the crime," she added.

The exhibit runs through April 29.

hmcneil@buffnews.comnull