Las Vegas Weekly

July 16, 2009 · 11:54 AM

Interactive exhibit CSI: The Experience is headed to MGM

By Robin Leach

Make like Grissom and solve crimes one hair follicle at a time at the MGM Grand's interactive exhibit, CSI: The Experience.

The top-rated CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is set on the Las Vegas Strip, and now the interactive exhibit CSI: The Experience will open this summer at MGM Grand.

Developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with a National Science Foundation grant for a tour of science museums, CSI: The Experience gives guests the chance to play crime scene investigator, learning scientific principles and investigative skills as they examine one of three crime scene mysteries.

In MGM’s press release, hotel execs disclose that two state-of-the-art crime labs will help guests piece together the evidence. With input from investigators from the CBS show, guests will formulate a hypothesis, validate their findings based on scientific evidence and try to crack the case.

A video introduction by cast members will welcome guests, lead them through the experience and then evaluate their crime-solving savvy as they exit. The experience includes DNA and fingerprint analysis, forensic anthropology and toxicology.

“The touring version of CSI: The Experience has been incredibly popular throughout the U.S. and the world,” said Liz Kalodner, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Consumer Products. “We’re excited to expand its reach by creating a more permanent home for the exhibit in the place where you could say the television series all began -- Las Vegas.”

The new recruits will enter one of three crime scenes where they will identify evidence and record findings on an investigation card. After exiting the crime scene -- “A House Collided,” “Who Got Served?” or “No Bones About It!” -- guests will refer to a large wall of crime scene photos and clues they may have missed. They will then analyze evidence in two highly interactive lab areas, each featuring multiple stations that allow for various evidence testing.

At the end of CSI: The Experience, guests will present their findings in a re-creation of the office of Gil Grissom, CSI’s head investigator. A case summary is then generated for guests to match their results to those of expert crime scene investigators. A personalized CSI diploma completes the experience.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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