New Hampshire

Blood, Bullets & Ballistics: How Real CSIs Get the Job Done

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Retreats

Science & Technology

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Explore the real-world excitement of CSI as you join forensic scientists to participate in crime lab demonstrations, learn about DNA analysis and help solve a mock homicide.

Rating (5)

Activity Level — Varies

Program No. 4416RJ

Length

6 days

Starts at

799

6 days

5 nights

14 meals

5B 4L 5D

West Swanzey

At a Glance

Learn from real forensic scientists how crime scenes are examined and how the evidence collected is analyzed at the crime lab. Immerse yourself in the world of DNA, firearms, fingerprints, handwriting and document analysis, and see for yourself how microscopic examinations of hair, fibers and even paper match sticks can place someone at the scene of the crime.

Activity Level

Varies by date

Minimal walking and standing on this program.

Best of all, you'll ...

Take part in demonstrations in the crime lab to discover how fingerprints are developed.
Step into actual "sanitized" crime scenes to see how all the pieces of the investigative puzzle come together.
Hear tales of "Monadnock Moments" featuring stories of people and places in the Monadnock region and the unsolved murders of Cheshire County.

General Notes

The Retreat Difference: This unique, often basic and no-frills experience at a Road Scholar Retreat includes opportunities for early morning exercise, interaction with the local community for insight into local life, an authentic farm-to-table or locally sourced meal, a live performance or event, and a value-priced single room.

Featured Expert

All Experts

Kim Rumrill

After working at the New Hampshire State Police forensic lab for 25 years, Kim Rumrill retired to join DHMC, in the Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technology Lab in April 2019. Now she analyzes DNA on clinical samples for cancer mutations, viruses, bacteria, carrier status and coagulation defects. Her expertise is serology, the science that deals with serums, especially blood. She is asked four or five times a year to testify in criminal court cases, including some of the most high-profile crimes in New Hampshire.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Wayne DiGeronimo

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Mallory S Littman

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Alan Rumrill

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Kim Rumrill

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James Jabbour

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Suggested Reading List

View 11 books

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.

Monadnock Moments..Historic tales from Southwest New Hampshire

by Alan F. Rumrill

Inspired by beloved local storyteller Fritz Wetherbee, Historical Society of Cheshire County director Alan F. Rumrill collected their sotires in his series, "Monadnock Moments" broadcast on Keene radio station WKNE from 1985 to 2005. Here he has gathered one hundred of his most interesting vignettes and paired them with historic images, chronicling the lives of business man, politicians and soldiers and spinning tales of disaster, murder and adventure that all had their roots in towns of southwest New Hampshire.

Judgement Day for the Turin Shroud

by Walter McCrone

Remains Silent

by Michael Baden and Linda Kenney

When a body is found beneath a construction site near the Catskill Mountains, New York City deputy chief medical examiner Jake Rosen is called to the scene, where he meets his match: Philomena “Manny” Manfreda, a beautiful crusading attorney. Together they stumble upon a decades-old mystery involving a long-shuttered mental institution, shocking medical experiments, and a troubled love affair.

50 Years of DNA

by by Julie Clayton (Editor), Carina Dennis (Editor)

Crick and Watson's discovery of the structure of DNA 50 years ago marked one of the great turning points in the history of science. Biology, immunology, medicine and genetics have all been radically transformed in the succeeding half-century, and the double helix has become an icon of our times. Published in association with Nature, this fascinating exploration of a scientific phenomenon provides an engaging account of the background and context for the discovery, its significance and afterlife. A series of essays by leading scientists, historians and commentators offer unique perspectives on DNA and its impact on modern science and society.

The Poison Squad

by Deborah Blum

From Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times-bestselling author Deborah Blum, the dramatic true story of how food was made safe in the United States and the heroes, led by the inimitable Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, who fought for change By the end of nineteenth century, food was dangerous. Lethal, even. "Milk" might contain formaldehyde, most often used to embalm corpses. Decaying meat was preserved with both salicylic acid, a pharmaceutical chemical, and borax, a compound first identified as a cleaning product. This was not by accident; food manufacturers had rushed to embrace the rise of industrial chemistry, and were knowingly selling harmful products. Unchecked by government regulation, basic safety, or even labelling requirements, they put profit before the health of their customers. By some estimates, in New York City alone, thousands of children were killed by "embalmed milk" every year. Citizens--activists, journalists, scientists, and women's groups--began agitating for change. But even as protective measures were enacted in Europe, American corporations blocked even modest regulations. Then, in 1883, Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, a chemistry professor from Purdue University, was named chief chemist of the agriculture department, and the agency began methodically investigating food and drink fraud, even conducting shocking human tests on groups of young men who came to be known as, "The Poison Squad."

The Poisoner's Handbook

by Deborah Blum

Murder and the birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

The Killer of Little Shephards

by Douglas Starr

A true crime story and the birth of forensic science.

Satan's Circus

by Mike Dash

They called it Satan’s Circus—a square mile of Midtown Manhattan where vice ruled, sin flourished, and depravity danced in every doorway. At the turn of the twentieth century, it was a place where everyone from the chorus girls to the beat cops was on the take and where bad boys became wicked men; a place where an upstanding young policeman such as Charley Becker could become the crookedest cop who ever stood behind a shield. Murder was so common in the vice district that few people were surprised when the loudmouthed owner of a shabby casino was gunned down on the steps of its best hotel. But when, two weeks later, an ambitious district attorney charged Becker with ordering the murder, even the denizens of Satan’s Circus were surprised. The handsome lieutenant was a decorated hero, the renowned leader of New York’s vice-busting Special Squad. Was he a bad cop leading a double life, or a pawn felled by the sinister rogues who ran Manhattan’s underworld? With appearances by the legendary and the notorious—including Big Tim Sullivan, the election-rigging vice lord of Tammany Hall; future president Theodore Roosevelt; beloved gangster Jack Zelig; and the newly famous author Stephen Crane—Satan’s Circus brings to life an almost-forgotten Gotham. Chronicling Charley Becker’s rise and fall, the book tells of the raucous, gaudy, and utterly corrupt city that made him, and recounts not one but two sensational murder trials that landed him in the electric chair.

Bone Voyage: A Journey in Forensic Anthropology

by Stanely Rhine

A husband preserved in mothballs, a vigilante victim encased in red mud, and convicts beaten and burned in a prison riot are only a few of the cases of death examined here by forensic anthropologist Stanley Rhine. Drawing on cases he worked for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, Rhine demonstrates how unidentified skeletal remains indicate race, sex, age, height, and ultimately identity and how the specialist decodes skeletal anomalies to establish cause of death. Blunt trauma, gunshot and knife wounds, and other injuries receive his attention. Step by step the author explains the techniques used to solve forensic mysteries. At the end of each case, he explains what lessons the forensic anthropologist learns from the bones. Rhine also explores specific problems and tasks: working mass disasters; recovering bodies from the field; defleshing bones; examining charred and badly decomposed remains; testifying before juries; and others.

The Devil's Bones

by Jefferson Bass

A burned car sits on a Tennessee hilltop, a woman's lifeless, charred body seated inside. Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton's job is to discover the truth hidden in the fire-desecrated corpse. Was the woman's death accidental . . . or was she incinerated to cover up her murder? But his research into the effect of flame on flesh and bone is about to collide with reality like a lit match meeting spilled gasoline. The arrival of a mysterious package—a set of suspiciously unnatural cremated remains—is pulling Brockton toward a nightmare too inhuman to imagine. And an old nemesis is waiting in the shadows to put him to the ultimate test, one that could reduce Brockton's life to smoldering ruins.

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6 days

5 nights

14 meals

5 B 4 L 5 D

DAY

Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner

West Swanzey

Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center

Activity note: Lodge check-in available from 4:00 PM

Afternoon: Program Check-in begins at 4:00-5:30 PM in Mayflower Lodge Office located on Pilgrim Pines campus. You will receive your room assignment and welcome packet containing your name tag, room key, up-to-date schedule and other important information regarding your stay at Pilgrim Pines. You are invited to join fellow participants and hosts for coffee and snacks from 4:00-5:30 PM. Please be aware that program activities and scheduled times could change due to local circumstance. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: Our welcome dinner is at 6:00 PM in the Mayflower Lodge Dining Room, buffet style, offering a variety of selections with healthy choices to include vegetarian options, plus coffee, tea, and dessert.

Evening: Orientation - 7:00 PM. We begin with introductions, then review the schedule, cover responsibilities, go over emergency procedures and seek to answer any questions you may have about our week together. Program Overview: We explore the work of real CSIs with forensic scientists, law enforcement officials and historians.

DAY

Major Crime Unit, Tour of covered bridges, Ballistics

West Swanzey

B,L,D

Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center

Activity note: We’ll have an opportunity to take part in a pre-breakfast Tai Chi session that promotes strength, balance, and peace of mind. Getting in/out of maxi-vans; driving about 15 miles, approximately 2 hours each way. Walking and standing at field trip sites and photo opportunities.

Breakfast: Breakfast will be served buffet style from 8:00-8:45 a.m in the Mayflower Dining Room featuring choices of cold and hot cereals, breads to toast, scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, fruit bar with yogurt and granola, plus coffee, tea, and choice of juices. .

Morning: PRESENTATION for our first class will be be an introduction to how does a real CSI get the job done presented by the State of New Hampshire's Major Crime Unit. The morning break will include coffee, tea, water, fruit and homemade Danish to renew your energy. The morning will continue discovering the work of the Major Crime Unit.

Lunch: In the Dining Room, we’ll have a buffet lunch with a full salad bar, soup of the day, and hot entrée plus beverage choices of coffee, tea, water.

Afternoon: This afternoon begins with a covered bridge tour of local covered bridges. We then enter into a study of firearms lead by a local ballistics expert.

Dinner: At 6:00 PM in the Mayflower Dining Room, we’ll have a buffet dinner with a full salad bar, meat and vegetable entrées, dessert, and beverage choice of coffee, tea, water.

Evening: At 7:00 p.m you will continue exploring the world of firearms with a ballistics expert. The evening will conclude with a light snack in the Dining Room along with opportunities to discuss the day or relax and join other Road Scholars in a variety of activities.

DAY

Toxicology Class, NH State Capital

West Swanzey

B,L,D

Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center

Activity note: We’ll have an opportunity to take part in a pre-breakfast Tai Chi session that promotes strength, balance, and peace of mind. Getting in and out of a motorcoach. Driving approximately 120 miles, about three hours. Walking up stairs to the State House, standing occasionally during the State House tour.

Breakfast: Breakfast will served buffet style from 8:00-8:45 am in the Mayflower Dining Room, featuring choices of cold and hot cereals, breads to toast, scrambled eggs sausage or bacon, fruit bar with yogurt and granola, plus coffee, tea and juice.

Morning: Using a motor coach we will leave Pilgrim Pines after breakfast for our 75 minute ride to Concord, NH to enjoy our classes in the conference room at the Audubon Society. Coffee, Tea, and muffins will be available on our arrival to renew your energy for the morning. Our first class of the day will be presented by an outstanding Forensic Toxicologist from the NH Police State Lab.

Lunch: At 12:15 pm, we will enjoy a bagged lunch prepared by Pilgrim Pines kitchen.

Afternoon: In the early afternoon we will enjoy a second presentation by a Forensic Toxicologist to help us understand in depth the work that goes on in the lab. In the middle of the afternoon we will take a short trip to the NH Capitol Building for a private guided tour. We will return in time for the evening meal.

Dinner: After a long day away, enjoy your full buffet dinner 6:00 pm in the Mayflower Dining Room. The meal will include a full salad bar, meat and vegetable entrées, dessert and drinks of your choice. (gluten free and vegetarian meals are available upon request).

Evening: After dinner, you will meet with a New Hampshire K-9 Unit to explore their important work in the State of New Hampshire. For the close of the day you are invited to the dining room for a snack, opportunities for conversation, put together a puzzle, play parlor games, watch TV, and/or read before your sleep.

DAY

Forensic Biology, Sheila LaBarre Murder Case, Concert

West Swanzey

B,L,D

Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center

Activity note: We’ll have an opportunity to take part in a pre-breakfast Tai Chi session that promotes strength, balance, and peace of mind. Sitting during lectures.

Breakfast: Breakfast will be served buffet style from 8:00-8:45 am in the Mayflower Dining Room featuring farm-to-table, New Hampshire grown/produced foods.

Morning: Our first lecture of the day will focus on Forensic Biology. Coffee, Tea, Water, Fruit and coffee cake will be served to renew your energy. The second lecture of the day will continue our focus on Forensic Biology.

Lunch: In the Dining Room, we’ll have a buffet lunch with a full salad bar, soup of the day, and hot entrée plus beverage choices of coffee, tea, water.

Afternoon: In the early afternoon we will examine the forensic science of blood stains. We will end the afternoon with the incredible story of the female murder case of Sheila LaBarre.

Dinner: At 6:00 PM in the Mayflower Dining Room, we’ll have a buffet dinner with a full salad bar, meat and vegetable entrées, dessert, and beverage choice of coffee, tea, water.

Evening: Tonight, enjoy an evening of classical guitar by a local musician.

DAY

Local Unsolved Murders, Deputy Medical Examiner

West Swanzey

B,L,D

Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center

Activity note: We’ll have an opportunity to take part in a pre-breakfast Tai Chi session that promotes strength, balance, and peace of mind. Excursion to Keene requires limited walking and standing and getting in an out of maxi-vans. Driving approximately 20 miles, about 1 hour.

Breakfast: From 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM in the Mayflower Dining Room, the Farm-to-Table breakfast buffet offers local choices such as scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, vegetables and cheese with fruit bar with yogurt and granola, bread for toast, milk, juice, coffee, tea, water.

Morning: Our first lecture of the day will focus on the work of the New Hampshire Assistant Deputy Medical Examiner. The morning break brings coffee, tea, water, fruit and pastries to renew your energy. The second part of the morning continues with real cases in the work of the Medical Examiners office.

Lunch: In the Dining Room, we’ll have a buffet lunch with a full salad bar, soup of the day, and hot entrée plus beverage choices of coffee, tea, water.

Afternoon: After lunch you are invited to journey to the Historical Society of Cheshire County located in Keene to hear a presentation by an outstanding historian concerning unsolved murders of Cheshire County. Following the presentation there will be an opportunity to explore the Currier and Ives city of Keene, NH.

Dinner: Our last evening meal together for the week will once again feature a full buffet dinner served at 6:00 pm in the Mayflower Dining Room.

Evening: An evening of free time.

DAY

Mock Crime Scene, Program Concludes

West Swanzey

Activity note: We’ll have an opportunity to take part in a pre-breakfast Tai Chi session that promotes strength, balance, and peace of mind.

Breakfast: We will begin serving breakfast at 8:00-8:45 am in the Mayflower Dining Room. featuring baked oatmeal, a specialty of the house, omelette's, hash along with a fruit bar, yogurt and granola. As you have enjoyed your second cup of coffee or tea, we hope you have enjoyed the choices each morning.

Morning: After breakfast, we have ample time to check out of our rooms. We meet at 10:00 a.m. for our final session, where you will be given an opportunity to use the CSI skills you have learned this week to solve a mock crime scene. Bagged lunches are available throughout the morning to sustain you as you head home. We wish you safe travels and hope you had a stimulating week of lifelong learning. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page. Best wishes for all your journeys!

Meals

14 Meals

5 Breakfasts

4 Lunches

5 Dinners

The following choices may be available when requested in advance: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Lodging

Lodgings may differ by date. Select a date to see the lodgings specific to that date.

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Nov 14, 2021 - Nov 19, 2021

Mar 14, 2021 - Mar 19, 2021
Nov 14, 2021 - Nov 19, 2021

Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center

5 nights

Swanzey

The Pilgrim Pines Conference Center provides comfortable but basic accommodations in several lodges on its 125-acre lakeside site. Guest rooms have private baths, table, a chair or chairs, closet and lamps, along with a heating unit and fans for the summer season. Some units have kitchenettes and a small dining area. Road Scholars often gather in the Meeting House for lectures, presentations and musical events, as well as in cozy fireside meeting rooms. Recreational activities, depending on the season, may include the compact nine-hole course, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and ice skating. Good to know: Alcohol-free facility. No TVs or phones in rooms; TV available in the Mayflower Lodge. Wi-Fi access available in some common areas. Housekeeping once a week. Most meals served buffet-style; bus own table.

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8 Reviews

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5 Average

Pamela

Schenectady, NY

(5) 2 months ago

Can’t wait to take part in another experience with Road Schlar!

Lee

Class of 2020

Southington, CT

(5) 2 months ago

I would not only recommend road scholar to friends --- but I would encourage them to sign up and get educated with the many programs they offer

Judith

Class of 2020

North Chelmsford, MA

(5) 2 months ago

Very cool, had fun and made friends.

Constance

Class of 2019

Ossining, NY

(5) 6 months ago

I loved this program! I learned about blood spatter patterns, forensic toxicology, DNA testing, technology in law enforcement and got an inside look at how medical examiners, criminologists, and the police work together to work a crime scene. Best of all we got to practice on a simulated crime scene the last day--and we realized how much we learned! Connie

Patricia

Class of 2017

Pilot, VA

(5) a year ago

This is an AWESOME program if you are interested in forensics and how it relates to investigating and interpreting crime scenes. There are several facets of presentation from medical examiner to blood spatter to firearms to toxicology. Local real stories are shared.

Mindy

Class of 2019

Plainview, NY

(5) a year ago

Had a wonderful time at Pilgrim Pines - learned a lot and enjoyed the diversity of the group. The location is beautiful and the staff were very pleasant and accommodating though next time I'll bring my own blanket. The bathrooms were spotless!

Regina

Class of 2019

Bladensburg, MD

(5) a year ago

The instructors provided an abundance of material, stopped to answer participant questions, and moved smoothly right back to the subject matter. There was blood and gore but tempered by the humor of the instructors and the interesting facts they presented. After presenting the participants with enough facts & figures, then the instructors turn the tide, and ask us, the participants to figure out what happened: was the blood because of gunshot or stabbing, was it murder or suicide, blood drip or blood spatter? We also received “extras.” We had an evening of live music; one hour, one evening, by a very special local guitarist. We were also able to watch a short documentary on one of the subjects who was briefly discussed by one of our instructors. Both of these extras enhanced the program. Also, our hostess Tiffany bent and reshaped the program to our needs and requests. She was everywhere and very sensitive to each and everyone person. Tiffany was genuinely friendly and funny too! The facility, Pilgrim Pines, is beautiful, a wooded area with Lake Swanzey at your doorstep. I was able to get in a walk every day it didn’t rain. All the cabins were within walking distance of the dining area, and our daily lectures; all accessible by ramp and/or a few steps. One person with a walker had no problem entering/exiting all facilities. Even when we went off site, everyone was accommodated. The chefs are also jewels. I am not vegetarian but the vegetarian food was delicious. I rarely eat beef but the beef brisket was oh so tender. A different soup everyday which were hot, flavorful, and well seasoned. Not at all like CSI on TV because that’s not real but this program was!

Anne

Class of 2019

East Northport, NY

(5) a year ago

Great program but bring soap, hairdryer and boots!

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Blood, Bullets & Ballistics: How Real CSIs Get the Job Done

At a Glance

Best of all, you'll ...

General Notes

Recommended Adventures

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