The Development and Implementation of
a Summer Camp for High School
Students Based on the Applications of
Analytical Instrumentation in Forensic
Chemistry
Jennifer Batten, Ph.D.
Bernard Liburd, Ph.D.
Grand Rapids Community College
The Chemists at GRCC have two
passions…….
•Instrumentation
•Community Service
The Camp Concept
The original idea for the camp resulted from:
 After many years of offering day and week long events for
younger students, we wanted to offer more in depth
content and hands on experience for older students who
wanted to experience real world lab work.
 We hoped to make a lab experience available to students
who may not otherwise have access.
 We felt that a GC-MS was needed at GRCC to offer our
students a complete instrumental experience and using the
instrument as part of community outreach is an important
part of any NSF-TUES proposal.
Guiding Principles
The guiding principles of the camp activities included:
 Hands-on use and theory of analytical
instrumentation would be stressed
 Inquiry based learning would be involved
 All activities would focus on a common goal
 Communication and teamwork would be
emphasized
The Camp Scenario
The following scenario was developed for the week
long camp:
 For our camp, we would imagine that there was recently an arson
crime in the Grand Rapids area.
 The Sheriff’s office was seeking help in identifying an arsonist from a
pool of five suspects.
 During the week, evidence recovered from the crime scene and
suspect’s automobiles and homes would be supplied.
 This evidence would include accelerant soaked wood, DNA, a hand
written note, soil, and fingerprints.
 It would be the student’s task to analyze all of the evidence and make
a report to the Sheriff’s Office.
Getting Ready- Camp Preparation
Getting ready for the Forensic Chemistry Summer Camp
required 6 main activities:
 Advertising and recruiting
 Selecting, testing and writing experiments
 Purchasing supplies
 Hiring high school teachers and GRCC students to
assist with the camp
 Communicating with attendees
 Working with GRCC Lab support staff on materials
needed per day and lab setup
Advertising and Recruiting
The application was developed with the following
items:
 Camp Description
 Pictures of the instrumentation
 Personal information-name, address etc.
 Photographic and campus roaming releases
 Campus dining options
 Essay requirements
Advertising and Recruiting
The camp was advertised and students were sent the
application through several routes:
1. Science teachers in select inner city schools were
contacted first with the hope of reaching underserved
students.
2. GRCC’s Communications Department later contacted
the counselors in GRPS, the Head of Communications
in GRPS and the MSTA Region 4 representative.
Student Profile
 32% Males and 68% Females
 School Grade: 8th -7.5%, 9th-22.5%, 10th-25.0%, 11th-40.0%, 12th5.0%
 23% enrolled in GRPS, the others enrolled in outer area public
and private schools
 93% of the students completed the week long camp
 Nearly all students expressed a goal for a career in science in
their essay
The Legal Stuff
There are legal issues in running a summer camp for
minors, including:
 Liability waivers in case of injury
 Express permission for older minors to leave science
building alone
 Background checks for all adults who will be in
contact with minor students
 Institutional Review Board approval if student data is
to be collected
Information for Parents
Three weeks prior to the camp start date, students and
parents were sent the following information:
 Letter of welcome explaining the dress code, parking,
drop/off pick up, meeting place, lunch options, and
poster session
 Campus map with key points highlighted
 IRB Consent Form and Liability Waiver
 A camp schedule
The Camp Schedule
Day/Topic
9:00 a.m.
10:00
11:00
Monday,
Tuesday,
Ink Analysis by Paper and Soil Analysis by Atomic
High Performance Liquid
Absorption
Chromatography (HPLC)
Spectroscopy (AAS)
Wednesday
Accelerant Analysis
by Gas
Chromatography/
Mass Spectrometry
Thursday,
DNA Analysis by Gel
Electrophoresis
Friday,
Finger Print Analysis
Introductions, Scenario
Development, Poster and
Notebook Information, and
Safety Rules
Theory of Liquid
Chromatography
Mobile Phase
Determination Using Pens
from Suspects
Soils Analysis and
the Theory of AAS
Accelerants and
GC/MS Theory
Theory of DNA in
Crime Scenes and
Analysis by Gel
Electrophoresis
Theory of
Fingerprint
Analysis
Soil Sample
Preparation
Special Guest
Speaker
Gel Preparation
Suspect Fingerprint
Collection and Analysis
Control and Sample
Preparation
Sample
Preparation,
Micropipette
Practice and Gel
Loading
Completion of Posters
and Presentation
Practice- Who
Committed the Arson
Crime?
Lunch and Camp
Evaluations
Comparison of Ink at Standard Solution
Crime Scene to Pens
Preparation
Found in Suspect’s
Homes
GC/MS of Arson
Scene Wood
11:30
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
12:00 p.m.
Analysis of “Best
Match” using HPLC
GC/MS Data
Collection and
Analysis
Data Collection, Gel
Staining, and Data
Analysis
Poster and
Notebook
Preparation
Poster and
Notebook
Preparation
Camp Ends
Camp Ends
2:00
Poster and
Notebook
Preparation
Analysis of Soil
Samples and
Standards Using
AAS
Poster and
Notebook
Preparation
2:30
Camp Ends
Camp Ends
1 p.m.
Poster Presentations
(Friends, Family and
Teachers Invited )
Camp Ends
Day 1: Ink Analysis by Paper (PC)
and Visible Spectroscopy
Objectives:
• Gain an understanding of polarity and
IMFs and their role in chromatographic
separations
• Investigate various solvents for
separations and explain the results
• Analyze ink from a note left at the crime
scene using PC and devise a method to
determine which pen wrote the note
• Use visible spectroscopy to further
investigate the inks
http://www.personal.psu.edu/mkm20/111-arson.pdf
Day 2: Soil Analysis by Atomic Absorption
Spectroscopy (AAS)
Objectives:
• Gain an understanding of the
interactions between matter and
light
• Practice wet chemistry skills such as
extraction, solution preparation and
vacuum filtration
• Use AAS to analyze a mixture with
several metals
• Create calibration curves and
determine the concentration of Zn,
Fe, and Cu in soil samples
Data Management
Fire Site
Team #1
Team #2
Team #3
Team #4
Team #5
Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g)
1.179
0.643
0.712
0.689
0.972
Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g)
2.032
1.298
1.052
1.708
1.135
Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g)
0.774
0.772
0.791
0.787
0.805
Suspect #1
Team #1
Suspect #2
Team #2
Team #3
ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR CONC./GRAM DATA
COME UP TO THIS COMPUTER AND ENTER IT IN
SO EVERYONE CAN SEE IT!!!!!
Suspect #3
Team #2
Team #6
Team #3
Suspect #4
Team #4
Team #4
Suspect #5
Team #5
Team #1
Team #5
Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g)
0.120
-0.059
0.168
0.176 xxxxxxxx
0.701
0.632
-0.042
0.276
0.120
0.649
Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g)
0.012
0.757
0.907
0.820 xxxxxxxx
1.048
1.399
1.661
0.703
1.812
0.868
Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g)
0.000
-0.053
0.210
0.250 xxxxxxxx
0.774
0.678
0.253
0.247
0.405
0.624
Blank #1
Team #1
Blank #2
Team #2
Team #3
Team #4
Team #5
Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g)
0.120
-0.054
-0.047
-0.084
0.008
Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g)
0.005
0.638
0.497
0.657
0.354
Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g)
0.000
-0.024
-0.108
-0.078
-0.014
A
V
E
R
A
G
E
S
Fire Site
Susp. #1
Susp. #2
Susp. #3
Susp. #4
Susp. #5
Blank #1
Blank #2
Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g)
0.839
0.031
0.428
0.666
0.117
0.384
0.006
-0.038
Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g)
1.445
0.385
0.559
1.223
1.182
1.340
0.380
0.505
Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g)
0.786
-0.027
0.210
0.726
0.250
0.514
-0.044
-0.046
Day 3: Accelerant Analysis By Gas ChromatographyMass Spectrometry (GC-MS)
Objectives:
• Understand the role of accelerants in
arson crimes
• Operate and understand very basic
theory of GC-MS
• Prepare samples for headspace
analysis
• Use MS data to determine which
accelerant was used to commit the
arson crime
• Learn how canines assist investigators
and scientists in solving crimes
Sodeman, D. A., Lillard, S. J. “Who set the fire? Determination of arson accelerants by GC-MS in
an instrumental methods course”, Journal of Chemical Education, 78, 9, 2001.
Two Very Special Guests
Deputy Dale Dekorte from the
Kent County Sheriff Department
presented information on the use
of accelerants in fires and the
partnership between
investigators and scientists in
solving crimes. Deputy Dekorte
and his partner, Ritzey,
demonstrated how canines are
used to collect evidence at
potential arson scenes.
Day 4: DNA Analysis by Gel Electrophoresis
Objectives:
• Understand how DNA is used to
identify criminal suspects
• Learn the basic theory of gelelectrophoresis
• Prepare agarose gels and load
samples using micro-pipets
• Set-up and operated gelelectrophoresis equipment
• Stain and visualize the developed
gels and use the information to
select a likely suspect
Day 5: Fingerprint Analysis
Objectives:
• Understand the basic
characteristics of fingerprints
• Practice dusting, lifting and
analyzing fingerprints
• Match fingerprints to the
potential suspects
Days 1-5: Poster Preparation
Planning for the Poster Session included:
 Obtaining guest access for the campus Wi-Fi
 Having an old camera for the students to document their week
 Setting up a Facebook page to up and download pictures
 Having laptop computers and a color printer available
 Purchasing poster boards and other supplies (spray glue,
construction paper, glitter etc.)
 Setting aside time each day for poster planning and preparation
and conclusion writing
The Final Product- A Poster Session
Student Feedback
 I liked using the GC-MS and
actually getting to click on
everything and see what was in
it. We talked about it in my
chemistry class a couple years
ago, the teacher said well
you’re not going to be able to
use one until you’re in college.
But, I actually got to do it and it
was a lot of fun.
 Apparently there’s a lot more
work in forensics than what’s
shown on TV.
Parent Feedback
 My daughter attended the
forensic camp and really enjoyed
it. When she researched colleges
offering forensic chemistry as a
major there were not many to
chose from. We were wondering if
she would be able to major in
something like general chemistry ?
 I wanted to thank you for the
wonderful learning experience. He
really enjoyed learning new skills
to solve the problems that were
presented, along with making new
friends.
Camp Costs
Camp Supplies – $2000
 Many of the materials purchased specifically for this camp can be used
again in future years. We estimate that costs for next year will be about
$600.
 Some of the more costly items included gas tight syringes, AAS
standards, HPLC solvents, and the purchased DNA kits.
Staff- $4980
 Each high school teacher was paid $1890 for 70 hours of work.
 Each GRCC student helper was paid $600 for 60 hours of work.
Improvements for 2015
• Work to improve the PC of the
pens
• Provide suspect profiles
• Write the scenario as a
newspaper article detailing the
crime
• Add paint chip analysis
• Invite a speaker from the
Wyoming Crime Lab
More Information
Information including this Power Point Presentation
and the Camp Lab Manual with Supply List can be
found at:
http://grcc.edu/physicalscience
This material is based upon work supported
by the National Science Foundation under
Grant Number DUE 1140509.
"Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of
the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the National Science Foundation."