Dr. Elizabth Gardner shows different types of currencies to “Adventures in the World of Forensics” participants at the Avondale library. (Courtesy of the Birmingham Public Library) Finding fingerprints on glass. Looking for security measures in currency. Locating invisible stains on fabric. Perhaps these aren’t the activities you normally think about participating in when you go to the library, but that’s what many Birmingham-area teenagers got to do thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Gardner of the UAB Department of Justice Sciences.

Gardner, who is director of the Forensic Science graduate program, volunteered to lead the Birmingham Public Library event “Adventures in the World of Forensics” at the Avondale library. She taught participants how to test fabric for residue and how to dust for fingerprints.

“What I’m trying to do are some forensic exercises where what’s there isn’t immediately visible,” said Gardner. “You can look at something, and it doesn’t look like anything’s there. But with the proper test, the evidence becomes clear.”

Watch the slideshow below for pictures from the event, and visit Avondale library’s Facebook page for more pictures and for details about other summer events.