The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A popular television show has inspired a teacher at Central High School to mix science with sleuthing.

The result is a course dedicated solely to forensic science - complete with fingerprinting, toxicology, ballistics, arson and DNA testing.

Starting this fall, 28 seniors in teacher Keri Kinslow's class will estimate time of death by examining maggots in rotting meat, study arson by burning a miniature crime scene and smash a sponge soaked in fake blood to learn the role spatter can play in crime scene investigation and crime reconstruction. They'll determine a bullet's trajectory from the crack in a glass window, identify a classmate who's a kidnapper by examining ink and paper under a microscope, and figure out if artwork is forged.

Kinslow, 25, traces the idea to television's CSI programs. She enjoys watching the team of crime-scene investigators solve murders each week and has every season on DVD.

Last year she began noticing that her biology students kept asking questions about the show. Keen interest suddenly replaced glazed looks.

"They were amazed people were using science to catch criminals," she said. "And I was amazed at their enthusiasm" for science.

Kinslow quickly decided to take advantage of it. She asked whether any such courses were being taught and found nothing.

Kinslow said there's plenty of real science behind the concepts: A bullet's trajectory teaches physics; studying maggots teaches entomology; and toxicology is closely linked to chemistry. Students learn genetics in a lesson on DNA.

She got permission from her school and the district to teach the senior course as an elective. It does not replace basic biology or chemistry. She found a curriculum online and ordered activity books. Then she ordered supplies: microscopes, police crime-scene tape, fingerprint kits, ultraviolet lights and software to do police sketches.

Kinslow said the response from students was overwhelming.

Chris Gallagher, 17, who beat the spring stampede of students to secure a slot in the two-semester elective course, said he can't wait.

"It's cool like how they can find evidence just from a piece of hair," he said.

Forensics has emerged nationwide as one of the hottest topics in science education. Its appeal is based largely on the popularity of CBS' forensic whodunit shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: Miami, experts said.

"More and more teachers are using forensics to teach science," said Cindy Workosky, a spokeswoman for the National Science Teachers Association, whose online forensics curriculum has been downloaded by 18,000 teachers, including 200 in Kentucky, since October 2002.

State education officials don't know if any courses similar to Central's are being offered, but the Kentucky Science Teachers Association said it likely is one of the first in the state to focus solely on forensic science. An increasing number of science teachers are using elements of forensics in their classes, an association official said.