As a fan of Murder She Wrote, Colombo, Law & Order, CSI (all locations) and many other crime shows, I was intrigued by the monthly Natural History Museum (NHM) after hours event: Crime Scene Live.
I’ll do my best not to spoil too much of what you can expect, but don’t say you were not warned before reading any further.
The first challenge at South Kensington was figuring our which entrance to use. As it was an after hours event, the NHM main entrances were not open, but thankfully there was a security guard at the station, who pointed us to the Queen’s Gate entrance.
After a short queue, you are asked what area you would like to be involved in (this initial selection will decide what you focus on for the evening, so if there is something particular you’re interested in, mention it when they ask) after which we are sent to be registered and checked in. After registration, we were given a brown envelope which included a museum map, suspects, and a timetable.
From there, we made our way to Hintze Hall – the grand hall of the Natural History Museum. The current centrepiece of the hall was the blue whale skeleton, Hope, suspended from the ceiling.
There are at least 100 investigators at each event, so it takes a while to get everyone registered and briefed, so we took the time to get a free drink at the bar (using the free drinks token they provide) and wander around the museum. It has a been a long while since I was in the museum, so it’s wonderful to have the chance to walk around the museum without the usual crowds and look at the exhibits.
The evenings crime:
Two bodies have been found and a priceless amethyst is missing. You have been drafted to the forensics team, where you will work with real forensics scientists, dig in to suspects lives and take part in forensic experiments to solve one of the three crimes.
We had two and half hours to attend lectures, gather evidence, analyse our findings to identify the victims, and determine when and where they were killed,
As mentioned above, due to the large size, groups are split into three groups (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie) all working on different aspects (e.g. Alpha working on maggots, Bravo working on Blood etc.)
There were various areas in the museum that would help with the investigation in addition to those listed in our timetables. Upstairs was a discovery zone where using QR codes, we could listen to voicemail or read text or email messages between suspects and a listening zone where we could listen to police interviews, crime scene boards connecting people and clues.
As the night goes on, we inch ever closer towards identifying a suspect and finding out what happened to the amethyst. At the end of the evening, all groups gathered back into Hintze Hall to discover what each group had learnt. Finally all was revealed, the actors played out the events leading up to the amethyst theft and murders. We were right !
At booking time, tickets for Crime Scene Live were £60, which is a little bit more expensive than a usual evening activity in London. Given all the detail put into the experience, I can understand why. The experience is definitely something to do if you or someone you know, enjoys forensics, crime or themed/immersive activities and unusual experiences. My only disappointment is not being able to participate in the other groups activities, such as looking at the entomology and dusting for fingerprints. I think for the price, they could incorporate a few more activities.
For more information and tickets: Natural History Museum: Crime Scene Live
