Science isn’t always considered fun, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be an enjoyable activity. Biology, chemistry, physics: there is a wide variety of opinions on all these fields of science. However, seniors Emelia Gorman and Kristina Park plan to tackle all these subjects by leading a science club that truly piques students’ interests, including their own.
The Forensics Club is WA’s newest addition to the club roster and it meets every other Thursday in room 211 from 2:25-3:25 p.m. It welcomes any and all students who are interested in and would like to learn more about forensics, a field that uses science to solve crimes.
“Forensics is [the study of] criminology,” Gorman said. “It’s taking sciences [such as] physics and chemistry and applying them to solving crime and understanding criminal psychology.”
For Gorman and Park, establishing Forensics Club was not an easy process. It took several months of planning on each of their parts.
“We started advocating for [Forensics Club] last year because we really liked forensics and it’s something [Park and I] want to go into,” Gorman said. “[Also], I wanted to start a club for [anybody] who is interested in the field of forensics.”
One of the primary tasks Gorman and Park had to tackle was find a club adviser, and it seemed appropriate that their first pick would be the forensics teacher at WA, Sara Blomgren, who agreed to take up the role. Blomgren has done her research, and is ready to bring her expertise to the classroom, as she feels Forensics Club is a worthy addition to the WA roster.
“I think any club where there is significant student interest is a worthy addition to WA, and so far, the meetings and activities have been very well attended,” Blomgren said. “I also think the club is a nice opportunity for students who have not taken the course or won’t have room in their schedules to take the course in their high school career.”
According to Gorman, as co-presidents of the club, she and Park plan to talk about different aspects of forensics at every meeting, such as changes to toxicology, which is the chemistry of drugs, and the details of blood splatters. At every meeting, they plan on doing an activity based on what the club members learned. One topic that they have already explored in depth is fingerprints.
However, their planning stretches far beyond the next meeting; the club leaders are already preparing for the final club gathering of the year as well.
“Our big finale for the club, [which is] what we hope to [to do during] our last meeting of the school year, is to stage a massive crime scene, and have our club members apply everything they learned over the year to solve the case and reconstruct what happened,” Gorman said.
Although Gorman and Park will be graduating from WA this year, they plan to accomplish much before their departure, and they’ve already left Blomgren impressed and optimistic.
“The two club leaders have done a great job spreading the word and gaining interest,” Blomgren said. “We have had some great meetings with some great attendance.”
Gorman and Park hope to have an impact on not only current students, but also future students at WA.
“We hope everyone has a fun time at the Forensics Club,” Gorman said. “[In the] long term, we hope that members can apply what they learned here into the actual study of forensics, like [how] I plan to do, and overall, we hope to make a big impact on our club members before we leave.”