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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 OCTOBER 2022 7 SCIENCE Forensic science taking centre stage at Esplora this Halloween Whilst Halloween is mostly known for its spookiness, hor- ror and scary costumes, it is al- so a time which is associated with mystery, exploration, and intrigue. The fascination for de- tective stories, thrillers and mys- teries has increased in the last couple of years. Whilst Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are still sought in pop culture today, thanks to television series such as CSI, we were introduced to the fascinating world of forensic science and investigation. Since Esplora's aim has always been to make visitors aware that science is all around us and also to expose people of all ages to STEM sub- jects and careers, this Halloween the science centre is placing fo- rensic science at the centre stage of its event. Through various scenarios, the main goal for CSI at Esplora: Halloween Week is to encourage visitors to question, investigate, and discover the identity of the culprit who committed a specif- ic crime. Visitors will be invited to put on their investigators' hat, step into the world of crime scene investigation and explore foren- sic science through different CSI activities that will have the whole family eager to learn more about this intriguing topic. To make the experience more realistic, during this event, Es- plora will be collaborating with the Malta Police Forensic Science Laboratory and the University of Malta's Department of Crim- inology, who will be presenting various interesting activities re- lated to the investigations done on a crime scene. The presence of these two organisations during this event will be an opportunity for visitors to meet actual foren- sic scientists whose job is to in- vestigate different crime scenes in Malta. This will also introduce Esplora's young visitors to various careers within the field of forensic science, helping them to explore what happens behind the scenes of these particular jobs and open- ing up new paths for those aspir- ing a career in the world of STEM. Those who are interested in visiting Esplora during this en- gaging event will get the chance to try various hands-on activities through different stations placed around the science centre. Activ- ities will include a Fingerprinting Station that gives visitors the op- portunity to see what it takes to track down a suspect through a unique physical feature - their own fingerprints. Other stations include Chromatography, Hand- writing and Fabric Analysis Sta- tions, as well as an area where vis- itors will try to extract DNA from fruit and vegetables in a similar but simplified manner to real-life DNA extraction. One of the most popular stations during this event will definitely be the Autopsy lab, as although Esplora's crime scene does not involve a murder, the science centre will set up this lab to enable visitors to discover some of the details that forensic scientists learn whilst doing an autopsy. CSI at Esplora: Halloween Week will be held on the following dates and times: • Friday 28th October be- tween 18:00 and 22:30 • rom Saturday 29th Octo- ber to Wednesday 2nd No- vember between 10:00 and 17:00 Tickets for this event can only be purchased online from www. showshappening.com and will be on a first come, first served ba- sis. For more information kindly check our website https://esplo- ra.org.mt/csi-at-esplora-hallow- een-week/ If you think you have what it takes to solve crime scenes, or you just want to spend some fun time with your family or friends on the spookiest week of the year, visit Esplora for CSI at Esplora: Hal- loween Week and unleash those budding investigative skills that are lurking in you!