Bloody footprints and fingerprint smudges were among the grisly evidence recently staged inside a makeshift crime scene in Patterson Hall.
Eastern Washington University’s two-day Forensics Youth Summer Camp had an abundance of fascinating clues waiting to be discovered. The camp, a new edition among EWU’s many summer learning experiences for kids, gave students in grades 7 through 12 a taste of what a college forensics investigation course has to offer.
“It’s pretty awesome, to be honest. I mean, it’s a short time, but it’s a very good short time,” says Aspen Delbridge, 13, who is entering eighth grade at Cheney Middle School this fall. “It’s a little gory, but I still think it’s pretty cool.”
Delbridge was one of 10 students who attended the camp’s August session, with another 20 having participated in an earlier camp in June. While most of the students came from Cheney-area schools, one traveled from Bellingham, Washington, to attend.
The camps provided career and college exploration activities complete with labs, lectures and other engaging exercises. Created by EWU faculty members and professionals from EWU’s Criminal Justice Department, participating campers gained hands-on experience with fingerprint collection and comparison, crime scene photography, along with analysis of bloodstains, DNA and trace evidence.
Through interactive activities and real-world investigative techniques, participants also discovered how science and critical thinking can combine to uncover the story behind the evidence.
The forensics camp was the brainchild of Kerryn Bell, professor of justice studies. Bell and her team developed the camp in partnership with EWU’s Professional & Continuing Education (PCE). PCE handled marketing, enrollment, communicating with parents, and getting feedback surveys, among other functions.
Charles Hause, an adjunct professor in justice studies, was among the faculty members who taught at the camp. Hause says the idea for offering a forensics camp came together within the criminal justice program as team members worked to create a new forensics minor.
“We’ve never had a forensics minor before,” Hause says, “so it made sense to try to expand the program and get something hands-on.”
As part of the forensics camp experience, one team of two students found themselves analyzing bloody tiles. Using a chemical compound of amido black—a synthetic dye that binds to blood proteins and cellular components and turns them blue — to lift impressions, they speculated on what the image might be.
“What do you think you’ve got?” one camper questions.
“A handprint,” the other replies.
Hause says students take notes, measure outcomes and try to render a conclusion about what made the impression, “similar to what we would do in a crime scene.”
After day one of the two-day August camp, Hause says that the pilot effort showed a lot of promise.
“I think it has been really successful, so far. The student feedback seems to be really good,” Hause says, adding, “It’s an enrollment and recruitment tool for Eastern, too.”
The students themselves had a chance to weigh in with feedback about their favorite activities.
“They like the photography portion of it,” Hause says. “They really like the fingerprint comparison and trying to find out who the bad guy is, and then they really like the bloodstain and blood reagent stuff.”
Delbridge, having been to the Girls+ STEM and Satori camps, could be considered bit of a connoisseur when it comes to Eastern camps. She says the forensics experience was especially helpful in that it offered both career and college highlights.
“It’s very interesting to see how it would actually look for the students who are actually going through this course,” Delbridge says. “I definitely recommend this camp to anyone who is interested.”
EWU 2026 Forensics Youth Summer Camp Photo Gallery
