Analyzing Dental Impressions at Home

By: Samantha Ribble

Now through September 6, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) is hosting to the traveling exhibit CSI: The Experience. This interactive exhibit turns guests into crime solvers as they investigate the scene, collect and analyze evidence, and bring the criminal to justice. With three different crime scenes to choose from and a high-tech laboratory, visitors are sure to walk away with a greater knowledge of what it takes to be a CSI.

Kids can be investigators in their own homes by analyzing evidence of the mouth – dental impressions.

Eighty percent of the time, teeth impressions are used to identify unknown victims. When fingerprints cannot be recovered and DNA testing is not possible, the teeth can give investigators a place to start. Since the enamel on your teeth is one of the hardest substances in your body, teeth are often well preserved.

Humans get two sets of teeth in their lifetime. By age three, children have a complete set of 20 baby teeth. Permanent teeth begin developing around the age of six and, over a span of 15 years, continue to cultivate until all 32 adult teeth are in place.

Teeth can reveal age by looking closely at level of development and wear. Dental records help investigators match a person’s mouth to a name.

All you need to get your young ones started on their first investigation are a few household items: scissors, Styrofoam plate, marking pen, and a thick piece of cheese or chocolate. Have the investigator leave the room and one of the suspects take a bite out of the cheese/chocolate. See if you can identify the person who took the bite by comparing impressions.

1. Divide the Styrofoam plate into six equal wedges. Cut the wedges.
2. Take two of the wedges and stack them together. Cut off 1 inch from the pointed end of the wedges.
3. Place the two wedges into your mouth as far as possible.
4. Bite down on the wedges firmly and then remove them.
5. Label the top and bottom wedges Top Teeth and Bottom Teeth.

Have your little investigator study the teeth impressions, make the comparisons, and figure out who bit it.

A Brief History of Dental Impressions:

The first published account where a suspect was convicted using bite mark evidence occurred in 1954 in the case of Doyle vs. State.

A grocery store in Aspermont, TX was broken into on the night of December 15, 1954. The burglar had stolen 13 silver dollars, small change, two bottles of whiskey, and decided to snack on some of the meats and cheeses behind the meat counter.

Once apprehended, the suspect was asked to bite into another piece of cheese. After a dentist compared the freshly bitten cheese slice and one recovered at the scene, the suspect was convicted of his crime.

Fingerprint Fun

A fingerprint is an impression of the pattern of ridges of a finger. Because no two people have the exact same patterns of finger ridges, that unique pattern can be linked to a fingerprint left on an object. Fingerprints collected at a crime scene can be used in forensic science to identify a suspect, victim or any other person that may have touched a surface.

The science of fingerprint identification is also known as dactyloscopy. This term derives from the ancient Greek words daktylos which means “finger” and skopeō “I look at”. Fingerprints have been recorded as used since Ancient Babylon where business people would press their fingerprints into clay tablets to record business transactions.

The classification system used through most of the 20th century in the United States was developed in India in the late 1800’s by Sir Edward Henry. This is known as the Henry Classification System. This system breaks fingerprints down into three main categories: Loop, Whorl and Arch. The Loop, Whorl and Arch types of fingerprints represent 60-65, 30-35 and 5 percent of all fingerprints, respectively. This system is used more to exclude fingerprints based on their designs rather than to identify a single fingerprint.

Fingerprints at a Crime Scene: Fingerprints can be plastic, patent or latent. Plastic prints are left in a soft surface like wax or putty. Patent prints are visible to the eye and occur when your finger first touches a colored substance like ink and then presses against a surface and leaves a mark. Latent prints are invisible to the eye and are made up mostly of oils and sweat on your skin.

Forensic scientists use many methods to make latent prints visible. On a solid surface like a mirror or countertop a fine dust can be applied that will stick to the oils left behind in a fingerprint. On a bumpy or uneven surface a fingerprint can be revealed by using heated superglue! On a surface like paper, specific chemicals can be used to develop the fingerprint so that it becomes visible.

The FBI maintains a fingerprint and criminal history database called the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System or IAFIS. Fingerprints are voluntarily submitted to IAFIS from local, state and federal agencies and come from criminal and non-criminal sources.

Put your investigative skills to the test in the exhibit CSI: The Experience, created in cooperation with the hit CBS franchise. You’ll use cutting edge forensic science and technology to investigate a crime scene, analyze evidence and build a case. Discover if your skills solve the crime … or leave the case cold!

CSI: The Experience was developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with support from CBS Consumer Products, the cast and crew of the television show, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and the National Science Foundation. ® CBS © 2000-2010 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. and Entertainment AB Funding LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Summer Solstice Science

The Summer Solstice is the day of the year in which we have the longest period of daylight. Today in Tampa the sun rose at 6:34am and will not set until 8:29pm.

The Summer Solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt or obliquity is most inclined towards the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. In the Northern Hemisphere this generally happens at a point between June 20th and June 21st when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun. In the Southern Hemisphere this is reversed. Today the Southern Hemisphere is tilted furthest away from the sun and is currently experiencing the Winter Solstice or longest period of night. In the Southern Hemisphere the Summer Solstice occurs in late December. The cumulative cooling and warming that result from the tilt of the planet become most pronounced after the solstices, leading to the custom of using these days to mark the traditional beginning of summer and winter.

Since Neolithic times, cultures have celebrated the longest days and nights of each year. In Roman times the Summer Solstice was celebrated each summer on June 24th. In fact, the word solstice derives from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). In ancient Europe pagans lit great bonfires on the night of the Summer Solstice and the holiday was often connected with healing and the first fruits of the seasons. With the advent of Christianity the date of the solstice became connected with the birth of St. John the Baptist and is still celebrated as St. John’s Day in many countries.

Have a fantastic longest day of the year and a happy summer!

The Amazing You: Phase II

Opening this Saturday, April 10th 2010, you can now find The Amazing You: Phase II located on the third floor of MOSI.

Building upon the concepts presented in The Amazing You covering conception through teenage years, The Amazing You: Phase II covers topics of the body and health relating to young adults through to seniors. You can watch interviews with organ donors, check out a simulated patient and scanner technology, and listen to heart rhythms in the cardiology exhibit. Other exhibits detail joint replacements, the power of laughter and meditation, cancer detection and research and scores more health topics relating to the later years of life.

One of the highlights of the exhibit is Mindball: a two player game using brain waves to send a plastic ball over to your opponent’s side. The most relaxed player wins! For a sure advantage, make sure to visit the ‘zen room’ before game play.

Construction is being completed this week on the third floor at MOSI to be ready for the Saturday opening to the public. Hope to see you there!

This exhibition is sponsored by MetLife Foundation.

Florida’s Fabulous Visitors

MOSI’s second floor connecting corridor gallery is currently host to a beautiful art exhibition entitled Florida’s Fabulous Visitors by artist Debra Jane Carey. Gorgeous botanical drawings invite you to discover how plant-animal communities support Florida's wildlife by detailing the interactions of plants and wildlife.

Butterflies are show with their host plants, pollinators with the plants that rely upon them. These stunning drawings allow you the up-close look at nature that is a rarity in the wild.

“Botanical Illustration is a balance between the realistic rendering of a plant and the stylistic interpretation of the artist.”

Debra Jane Carey is an internationally recognized and award-winning artist who brings nature alive by spotlighting in breathtaking detail the magic of plants and animals.

About The Artist—Illustrator joined the University of Illinois Master Gardener Program in 1993 where she trained in botany and entomology.

Carey achieved her Certificate in Botanical Art & Illustration in 1998. Her art embodies her fine draftsmanship and a thorough understanding of the subject matter. In 2002, Carey taught research, history and techniques of botanical illustration at Ringling School of Art and Design. The compilation of this course is detailed in the book, “Ten Steps: A Course in Botanical Art & Illustration, Vol. III O.M. Briada 2005.

Carey exhibits nationally and locally in 2006 with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. She collaborated with Selby to create artwork in turn posters that won the “education award” for a booth at the American Orchid Society Florida tour.

Bishop Kay Ward, 2009 published her third inspirational book Hoping for Spring. Debra contributed illustrations to the book cover.

Dr. Emrys Miles Chew Khean Aun, Editor of the prestigious Malayan Orchid Review published Debra’s Darwin’s Prediction Illustration in the December 2009 editorial titled The Orchid in Representational Culture.

Debra’s greeting cards are available for purchase at the MOSI museum store.

Take a walk on the wild side!

Lots of improvements have been happening along the trails in our Backwoods Forest Preserve. Of late several new kiosks have been installed at the trail heads that will soon be packed with information for our guests. The trails in the preserve have been resurfaced with a mix of native shells which allows rainwater to percolate through the trails and reduces the impact of the trails on this habitat. Also, a new boardwalk has been installed as a walkway over a wetland area so that visitors can get up close and personal with an otherwise difficult to investigate area.

About the Back Woods Forest Preserve:

Located in the Southeastern portion of the MOSI campus, the Back Woods is a diminutive forest oasis in a sea of urban development. Packed into 25 acres is a notable array of many Central Florida habitats, complete with distinct sandhill, hardwood wetland, mesic pine flatwoods, and upland hardwood hammock communities.

Currently, MOSI staff and volunteers are working to restore these habitats, remove invasive species, refurbish trails and boardwalks, and create new interpretive signage and guides to make this area a better educational experience for all of our guests and the surrounding community. Look for changes to the Back Woods as we continue to improve this area.

For updates, volunteer opportunities, and to follow our progress on this project; check out our Blog The Longleaf: An Urban Forest Legend.

The Back Woods forest is open to the public 365 days a year during the Museum’s operating hours (9-5 M-F, 9-6 Sat/Sun). There is no admission fee to the Back Woods and Museum admission is not required for use. Intoxicants, firearms, hunting, bicycling, skateboarding, rollerblading, motorized vehicle use, collecting of plants or animals, and smoking are not permitted within the preserve boundaries. Pets must be leashed and all pet waste picked up and disposed of properly.

In 2007 MOSI was awarded a Pollution Recovery Fund grant from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County. Current restoration activities, including non-native invasive plant treatment, are funded under this grant.

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Here are some pictures of early Spring in the Back Woods Forest Preserve at MOSI: new leaves, tiny flowers, colorful lichen, carpets of moss, seed pods and more!

Inspired by da Vinci: A Mona Lisa of another sort.

Terry Klaaren’s Monique Alyssa

For the Inspired by da Vinci art exhibit in the MOSI Founder’s Hall, Terry Klarren submitted a work that was inspired by DaVinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. Entitled “Monique Alyssa”, Terry blended the subject of da Vinci’s best known painting with the painting style of Vincent Van Gogh.

A selection of Mr. Klaaren’s paintings can also be seen in the MOSI 4th Floor Gallery space. As you exit the IMAX theater on the fourth floor, head around to the right side to see these lovely works.

You can see more of Terry Klarren’s artwork at his website klarrenart.com.

Inside the da Vinci: The Genius exhibit there is an entire room dedicated to the da Vinci masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, showing minute details of the composition and revealing secrets of one of the world’s best known paintings.