[Source: Lisa Nicita, Arizona Republic] — Instead of learning a new cheer or building a campfire this summer, dozens of kids from Tempe to Glendale are dusting fingerprints and testing blood. Fake blood, but still blood to the kids. New camps with forensic and crime scene investigation themes have popped up around the Valley this summer, and kids are interested. Karlee Preston, 12, of Glendale, said she had a great time at the Honeywell-sponsored Science Rocks day camp held earlier this month at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Glendale. Karlee, a fan of the CSI television series, had fun in the courtroom scenes. She played a reporter. “The crime lab was pretty cool, too, because we got to test blood,” she said.
Of course, testing body fluids at day camp made for interesting dinner conversation. Parker Preston, Karlee’s dad, said it was a little dicey to hear his 8-year-old son, Dylan, talk about those fluids or what drugs people may have in their bodies. But it’s summer and his kids are talking about science. What a novelty. “We live in a Discovery Channel age, so it’s not like they weren’t exposed to it already,” Preston said. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]