At 6 p.m. Aug. 8, men and women from ages 21 and up filed into the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center for the monthly event known as Science Night Live. The event was the third of its kind and like the previous two it focused on a specific scientific theme. The theme for the night was forensic science and had numerous activities and exhibits in addition to the normal attractions found at the Discovery Center.

A few events, including a demonstration of how blood types are determined, were planned and ran by the staff of the Discovery Center, but there were also events brought in by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Topeka sheriff’s department.

KBI showed off their method of analyzing tracks using a mold, allowing patrons to mix the compound that is poured into the tracks left behind at a crime scene. They also had a demonstration of their tools used to identify tool marks left behind in breaking and entering cases. A microscope rigged up to a monitor also showed patrons how different guns leave different markings on the bullets they fire and the casings they expel.

The sheriff’s department, on the other hand, was mainly doing talks on different methods of investigations with a few demonstrations interspersed. For example, at one point an officer presented a demonstration on how fingerprints differ between each person. The sheriff’s department was quite the crowd-pleaser though, and had people around the presentation area throughout the event.

“The crime scene photos being shown by the sheriff’s department were pretty cool, we were listening to that [presentation] and it was pretty interesting” said Corby Hoss, a 36-year-old dental assist who attended the event, who went on to explain that her second favorite of the attractions was “coming out and riding the tricycles.”

Those tricycles were an outdoor event that wasn’t linked to the theme that patrons could still participate in. Additionally, Table Talk Games was also at the event with board games and card games for patrons to play. A few of the games included Timeline, King of Tokyo, and Pandemic. Drinks of both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic nature were available for purchase and dinner was also purchasable at Vuelve a la Vida, a Caribbean & Mexican Food Truck that was on site.

Tickets were $12 at the door or ten dollars in advance, a price that will also apply to the next event on September 12, when the theme will be The Science of Robotics.