From crime shows to the classroom, Bishop Gorman students got a taste of real-life forensics with a blood splatter lab that put their investigative skills to the test.

The goal of the lab was to learn how blood stains are formed, and what they reveal about a crime. Students tested how factors like height, angle, and force affected the size and shape of blood drops, mocking how forensic scientists work to break down the events of a crime scene. 

Participants loved getting to experience and learn about how a real crime scene would work. “This lab, to me, was designed to teach us about real world scenarios and how to identify them quickly and accurately,” Hailey Stiegler ‘26 said. “It relates to actual crime scenes in the sense that bloodstains are created in specific ways, and for us to practice seeing them and analyzing them now will help when it comes to identifying key elements of a case like murder weapons.” 

Stiegler continued to explain how much preparation the lab required from students. Between background comprehension of how basic bloodstains look and studying how certain patterns are created, the Forensics classes took their time to ensure they fully understood the topic of the lab. “It took us about a week to get familiarized with things like terminology and looks, which definitely helped during the lab,” Stiegler said.

In the end, students agreed that the blood splatter lab was worth all of the effort. Especially for those who intend to study forensics in the future, the experiment was a hit. “Since I want to go into this field eventually, I would love to do more labs like this that are interactive and immersive!” Stiegler said.