KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasSeniors Skip Slots for Some CSI Education
Click here to contact Reporter Cindy Cesare.
(Feb. 17) -- When you picture a Las Vegas vacation, blood, fingerprinting and DNA analysis is probably not what you imagine. But through a new program at UNLV, that's what dozens of senior tourists are enjoying -- something unique on their trip here.
It may look like your typical Las Vegas tour group, but their t-shirts let you know that something is different.
Charlotte Hewitt, Louisiana visitor says, "I'm a fan of C.S.I.!" Charlotte Hewitt isn't the only CSI fan on this bus. In fact, all 28 of these seniors are at UNLV to learn about crime scene investigations from the experts.
Kristin Grammas, a Metro Crime Scene Analyst, says, "Good morning. I like the CSI shirts. You're in the back. Right-on."
Kristin Grammas, a real Metro Police crime scene analyst, begins the five-day program with this elder hostel group. She separates fact from the fiction of the hit TV show.
Grammas says, "And I do not dress like this on a crime scene." Grammas, along with other experts, like this DNA professor, will also teach these tourists the nitty-gritty about forensic science. And these 55 and older students soak it all up.
Metro's Kristin Grammas said, "This is a lot of fun. Actually they watch a lot of the show so they do have a lot of questions. But a lot of them, I have to tell them, aren't necessarily true."
Lori Slinn, with the UNLV Older Students Programs says, "They don't look at it from the sense of blood and gore. They look at it in, 'Now, why is the blood flowing that way on the body?'"
This Elder Hostel group has traveled from all over the country, and even Canada for this new UNLV course for older students.
This $500 educational vacation was a Christmas gift from Gordon Hyland's wife.
Eyewitness News Reporter asks, "Is this a better way to spend a Las Vegas vacation?"
Gordon Hyland, a Canadian tourist replies, "Yes, it is because it's so informative. And if you love to learn in your senior years, you get the fun and the education which is great."
The tourists that participate in the Elder Hostel program will see more than slots, showgirls and the Strip on their visit. Through this CSI program, they will see life off the Strip and what the real Metro crime scene analysts do for a living.
Metro's Kristin Grammas says, "I do believe I'm teaching them something. I can't believe they would come here to learn gory stuff instead of going to the slot machines. But you know, to each is own."
Charlotte Hewitt, a Louisiana visitor, says, "Oh, I got my CSI shirt! I gotta bring that back. Everybody will be jealous. Oh look, she went to this forensics class. Why didn't we go?"
These seniors say that instead of just losing their money at the casinos, they are gaining knowledge.
Hewitt said, "It's wonderful. Everybody out to look forward to being 55 and older. That's one good thing about being old."
UNLV partners with the Elder Hostel company for this education program as well as numerous other programs about Las Vegas history and entertainment.
