Pier Aquarium SciCafé Hosts CSI Forensic Science EventST. PETERSBURG - Bring your imagination and put yourself in the shoes of a CSI in training and discover for yourself if what you see on the popular CSI shows is, in fact, reality at the next Science Café. The Pier Aquarium's July 20 science café will take you behind the doors of the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) in Largo. There, visitors will rotate through (at their own pace) several activity stations to learn about the exacting process of crime scene investigation, and be able to ask the questions they've always wanted to ask CSI Las Vegas heroes Katherine Willows, Nick Stokes or Greg Sanders. This interactive experience will demonstrate how the NFSTC staff supports the justice community through innovative research, programs, evaluation of the latest technologies and laboratory quality reviews. The evening concludes with a panel discussion with a crime scene investigator, DNA specialist and chemist and Q&A session moderated by Kevin Lothridge, NFSTC CEO. "NFSTC is pleased to host this event with The Pier Aquarium to enhance science discussions and general knowledge," says Lothridge. "Science is central to our mission and is the basis for all the work we do." SciCafé St. Petersburg '10 is a free, informal quarterly discussion series presented by The Pier Aquarium, the American Chemical Society and NOVAscienceNOW (WGBH Educational Foundation). It was created in 2009 "to raise awareness and satisfy a person's curiosity about things scientific" according to E. Howard Rutherford, President & CEO, The Pier Aquarium. RSVP is requested. Please RSVP via www.pieraquarium.org/event/csiscicafe. The science café is in international program that brings the discussion of science in the mainstream. No one organization "controls" or claims credit for creating the science café concept in the United States, but many science cafés were inspired by Café Scientifique based in the United Kingdom and informally hosted at a local restaurant, bar or pub. SciCafé St. Petersburg, the first science café created in the Greater Tampa Bay area, has brought the topics of caffeine, green chemistry, nanotechnology, photovoltaics and the Gulf Oil Disaster to a community forum. This CSI presentation is the first not held at a restaurant because of the unusual, participatory nature of the discussion topic. The National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation headquartered in Largo, Florida. NFSTC provides training, assessment, technology assistance and evaluation to the justice and forensic communities to ensure quality forensic services nationwide. The organization receives funding from the National Institute of Justice and other federal agencies.
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