![Hosting the SCLA Casptone Mentor Dinner outside allowed for more attendees on September 27, 2021 at Silver Creek. This event would’ve usually been held inside. According to Lauren Kohn, a SCLA 12 teacher, “If we have a higher number of people, as long as we can host the event outside, then that seems to be keeping every[one] safe”.](https://schsnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/sxMAIGbSYGodZkqmrvTi5YWcJ1ssWA08ApkeMLpp-900x675.jpeg)
Walking into a science classroom, it’s not every day that students see caution tape and tarp riddle the floor. Along with a mysterious box full of bones, soil, a bullet casing, and old clothes, a true mystery appears.
Stephanie Owen, the anatomy teacher at Silver Creek High School, has followed this murder box tradition for three years so far. This year, the event featured the guest appearance of two crime scene investigators, Ashlin Chavez and Kira Julian, from the Longmont Police Department. Their job, differing from detectives, is to use science on crime scenes to help solve questions about the victims. Along with David Bonday, Silver Creek’s school resource officer, they gave a lesson on human decomposition. During the lesson, students could get hands-on experience with forensic science by interacting with the murder box and CSIs.
The Murder Box is a Halloween event that starts early on October 30, but the box will remain open until Thanksgiving break, November 20, to give students time to analyze and solve the crime for an optional assessment piece. This time, students can either make a presentation for the district attorney or create a true crime podcast on solving the murder.
Though many students aren’t often motivated to do optional stuff, this event is different. Some students are really digging into the box, trying to find pieces of evidence that can help solve the murder. As a unique activity for many students, it gives them a hands-on approach to forensics.
“It would have been really boring if it was online, hands on stuff is just better,” Sena Schroeder, a junior at Silver Creek High School, said. “The fact that you can pick stuff up and examine it makes it a lot better.”
Schroeder isn’t working alone, however. She is working with another junior, Noelani Wright, since this piece requires collaboration to solve. Working together on the assessment piece, the two are enjoying it so far because of the unique nature of it.
“I like the insect part, that was really interesting,” Wright said. “The fact that they brought in two people from the field, and all the stories that they had were really interesting.”
Many students share this feeling towards hands-on learning and live presentations, especially in such a specialized field where most of what students learn is inside the body. This activity focused on a mix of bones, but had a big focus on entomology, the study of insects, to make it as realistic as possible. Murder boxes might not be very common; crime scenes definitely are.
“I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of crime scenes in my career,” Bonday said. “[I’ve seen] strange crime scenes and strange ways bodies have been disposed of.”
Bonday spoke on his experience and stories about crime scenes that were similar, and how he had to go about investigating them. He is excited about crime scenes, so he and Owen came up with the activity together.
“Ms. Owens and I had come up with this idea to add to our anatomy class and make it a bit more exciting,” Bonday said.
Creating an activity that is well received by students can be tricky, but many students have enjoyed it so far. This event was inspired by the recent popularity of true crime podcasts and documentaries, and a collaboration between some staff at Silver Creek.
“I’m a fan of true crime and murder,” Owen said. “I’m not a huge podcast person, but I am a big fan of documentaries, and true crime fascinates me.”
Even if students aren’t the biggest fans of the creepy parts of anatomy, they have enjoyed this event, especially during times when many other classes can start to ramp up for finals.
“It gave a great interpretation of what crime can look like and how [police] go about investigations,” Jadeyn Cottrell, a senior at Silver Creek, said.
Many students have other career paths in mind, but this activity can open up a new path by giving them exposure to unique jobs and experiences. With Anatomy being open to only juniors and seniors, many students have made up their minds about colleges, or subjects that they want to pursue. This event can help give students more exposure to some people’s careers that they might enjoy too.
This event is a very popular one among anatomy students and has a great reputation for a fun, hands-on activity. Owen hopes to continue this tradition for years to come, but who knows what future tricks she holds up her sleeve.
