CSI: The Experience

Frontier Events and Events Queensland, in association with EMS Exhibits, under a license from CBS Consumer Products, are pleased to announce the internationally acclaimed & award winning exhibition CSI: The Experience will open exclusively at Piazza Surfers Paradise on Friday 2nd December 2011.

In a major coup for Queensland, Surfers Paradise will exclusively host the exhibition’s first ever visit to Australia, following its triumphs in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Premier Anna Bligh welcomed news of the announcement: “This award winning TV series has been watched in homes all over Queensland for years and now the experience is being brought to life right here on the Gold Coast.

The interactive exhibition is based on the multi award winning and long running hit television crime drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. CSI: The Experience exhibition invites visitors to assume the role of a forensic detective to solve cases using scientific principles and techniques currently in use today and as seen on the CSI television programs.

From DNA and firearms analysis to forensic anthropology and toxicology, visitors will have the opportunity to actively engage in a new form of interactive & experiential learning – a hybrid of entertainment and science; or as CSI Executive Producer Jerry Bruckheimer describes it, ‘edu-tainment’ where an engaging multimedia environment meets pop culture appeal, meets enriching educational value.

Designed for visitors 11 years of age and older, the 1,110 square-metre exhibition was developed in consultation with 175 forensic science experts and guides visitors through an intriguing process that closely copies the realities of crime scene investigation.

Upon entering the exhibition, our newly hired ‘detectives’ are inducted into the realm of forensic science through a video introduction by Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator & executive producer of the CSI television series. Real-life forensic scientist Ron Singer then briefly summarises the science to be found in the exhibit before CSI’s lead investigator ‘Gil Grissom’ outlines his role as supervisor for the new ‘recruits’ and as usual recommends they ‘follow the evidence’ to their eventual conclusion.

Our detectives then travel through one of three intricately constructed ‘crime scenes’ to identify and record evidence. State-of-the-art ‘crime labs’ assist them to piece together evidence from the ‘crime scene’ whilst an ‘autopsy’ room explains the process of pathology analysis.

With guidance in the form of video messages from the much loved past and present characters from the television show, our detectives will be invited to present their findings to team supervisor ‘Gil Grissom’ in his ‘office’ in the hopes of solving the case. Successful detectives are rewarded with a personalised crime scene diploma upon cracking the case they have been assigned. Originally developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with a grant from The National Science Foundation (NSF), CSI: The Experience has been exhibited across the United States, Europe, and Asia with the Surfers Paradise exhibition being the first foray into Oceania.

CSI: The Experience received the American Experience Industry’s Thea Award for Excellence in Innovation. The Thea Awards, considered the experience industry’s highest honour, recognise excellence in the creation of outstanding guest experiences.