December 7, students in Forensics classes learned about blood spatter. Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, a specialty in the field of forensic science, involves the study and analysis of bloodstains at a violent crime scene with the goal of helping investigators draw conclusions about the nature, timing and other details of the crime.

Ms. Jessica Baker set up plastic tarps to help contain the mess and gathered tools that could also be used as weapons, such as a screwdriver, a hammer, and a wrench.

Students would first put on a homemade poncho so they wouldn’t ruin their clothes. They would then tape a plain piece of white paper to cardboard and select the tool they wanted to use. After dipping the tool in fake blood (a mixture of corn syrup and red food coloring), students would swing the tool towards the white paper so the blood would fly off and hit the paper.

Students were supposed to count how many times they swung and have other students look at their paper and guess. Students learned how to detect how many streaks of blood and changes in direction there were.

“It was cool seeing how the blood on the paper looked different depending on what weapon used,” said Eli Smith.

Blood spatter can reveal a lot about a crime, including the height of a suspect, how strong they are, where a victim was hit, and much more. If a larger and stronger student spattered the paper with the swing of a hammer, a lot more blood would be on the paper than if a smaller student were to do the same.