Someone's Been Murdered At The Natural History Museum In This Forensic Mystery Event

Someone's been murdered at the Natural History Museum and a valuable gemstone has been stolen. Who perpetrated this dastardly crime, and has it anything to do with the curse attached to the stolen amethyst?

We've put on our best (and only) deerstalker and we're on the hunt for a killer. Thankfully we're not just reliant on our wits, the fact we've watched several episodes of Sherlock and CSI, and we once won a family game of Cluedo. This is an interactive theatre experience where we (and a few hundred others) explore the museum after dark, and dig up some clues to decide which of the shifty-looking suspects carried out the crime.

With a blend of actors and forensic specialists to guide us around, the three hours fly by. We don white suits and get very hands on in creating blood spatter patterns and dusting for finger prints. We break into small groups so we can ask questions to the forensic experts about how it all works. The small group sizes mean everyone has a go at trying to decipher each clue and it's only when there are so few of us in the museum that we get a true appreciation for how vast the place is.

The actors are well informed and can answer detailed questions so impressively, it's sometimes hard to tell they're actors at all. The only give away was our blood spatter analyst's almost vampiric love for all things blood related.

The balance between learning how forensic analysis is conducted and the playful humour is spot on and we found ourselves intrigued and entertained throughout the evening.

It's a relaxed event with plenty of time to grab a complimentary drink and explore the museum at a sedate pace, scanning QR codes as we go — this is no Door In A Wall sprint across London. The social element is helped by each team not completing every activity so everyone has to talk to each other to discover what clues others have learnt. We weren't particularly proactive in our investigations but we managed to piece the clues together to solve it, and so did nearly everyone in attendance.

The one downside is that, compared to similar events, it's a little pricey at £63 per person. However, on the plus side it's indoors so the elements aren't an issue and what grander building is there to explore in London than the Natural History Museum — particularly when it's free of the daytime crowds.

We've definitely come across more challenging whodunnit style experiences, but sometimes it's nice to take it a little slower and enjoy the evening, without getting too competitive. For those occasions, Crime Scene Live is perfect.

Crime Scene Live runs at Natural History Museum one evening a month. It's available to book roughly six months in advance and is £63 per person. All photographs in this article are copyright of the trustees of The Natural History Museum 2018.