Fingerprints and forensics fascinated the children who explored the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department crime lab on Tuesday.

“It was really cool that we got to come today,” 15-year-old Alishia Katsimeras said.

The Washoe County crime lab opened for school tours and other interested groups on Tuesday, showing off everything from a simulated crime scene to its DNA labs. Organizers said more than 300 people from school groups to senior citizen clubs had explored the lab before 1 p.m. More than double that number were expected by the event's end at 4:30 p.m.

“The goal is to help people gain an understanding of what forensic science is really like,” said lab director Renee Romero, “and help them understand the real world experience versus what they see on TV.”

Normally, groups who want to tour the lab will come in and get to peek through the windows, according to Romero. This time, the doors swung open and welcomed anyone who wanted to look behind the scenes. However, she added, all real crime scene evidence was carefully tucked away in storage. Instead, the department spattered sheep’s blood on evidence and asked students to press their hands to a refrigerator door so investigators could dust for fingerprints.

“It is quite an investment for the department to shut this place down like this,” said trace evidence investigator Rich Berger. “They take two days to scrub it down to prepare and then they scrub it down again (after the tours are over).”

Berger is a contract investigator who comes in just for the tour event. He worked for the county crime lab for 28 years before recently retiring, but he still comes back for the tour every year. According to Romero, Tuesday was the third year that the crime lab had opened its doors.

“The investment is a good one for us,” Berger said. “The experience here is hopefully good for them.”

Berger led children from Our Lady of the Snows Catholic school in Reno to a table where light bulb filaments lay under microscopes and duct tape sat ripped from its rolls.

“Did one of those pieces (of tape) come off that roll?” Berger asked the group of seventh grade students. To find the trace evidence, they needed to look closely.

The miniscule differences in evidence were put under a microscope in the case of the light bulb filaments.

“Some things only happen when the bulb is hot,” Berger explained. “With this we can know if the light was on when the car crashed.”

Connor Brewster, 12, leaned into the evidence and squinted at the tiny differences. The boy was on tour with his father, Kevin, and friends from Our Lady of the Snows. He had no interest in being a forensic scientist, but thought the experience was, “cool” nonetheless.

“I want to see the ultra violet lights like what they use on 'CSI,' ” Connor said.

His dad wanted him to see a few other things.

“I hope they gain an appreciation for some of the science subjects they are learning about,” Kevin said.

He added with a chuckle that the tour might convince some youth that there is very little you can hide from the police.

No class knew this better than the group of high school sophomores and seniors from Excel Christian School in Sparks. The group is from the only forensics class taught at the high school level by a former FBI and CIA agent.

“I saw this and thought, ‘We have got to go!’ " said Excel teacher and retired agent Bruce Siefried. “So much has changed since I left the FBI.”

His class also incorporates biology, physics and chemistry into the study of true-to-life crime.

Some of Siefried’s students were interested in pursuing a career in forensic science after graduation, making the experience all the more interesting.

“I have never seen them find the fingerprinting,” 17-year-old Excel student Brandon Trefethen said. “It was cool how it just appeared when they dusted it.”

In 2008, the Washoe County forensics department received more than 21,000 pieces of evidence, documented more than 400 crime scenes, attended 100 autopsies and processed about 10,000 requests for scientific examinations.

The crime lab has a staff of 36 full-time employees, four part-time employees, one contract employee (Berger) and one volunteer.

“I hope they find a career interest,” Berger said. “The field is small, but it is still growing. More and more people like myself are leaving. We need to get kids interested at a young age.”