Dr. Jennifer Hall Rivera

Director of Educational Programs, Speaker and Author

The field of forensics has grown far beyond catching criminals by finding their fingerprints or footprints at crime scenes, techniques first popularized in Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries 100-plus years ago. Over the decades, investigative advancements in forensics have made significant progress and solved untold numbers of crimes. They have become a part of popular culture, including various TV programs.

Recognizing how the field of forensics can be applied to apologetics, Dr. Jennifer Rivera leads popular hands-on forensics programs at AiG’s attractions as the Director of Educational Programs. In addition to over 15 years of teaching experience in the sciences, Dr. Rivera holds an education doctorate in curriculum and instruction, an MAT with a science concentration, and a BA in criminal justice, with hundreds of training hours in the forensic disciplines. Dr. Rivera used to work in a crime scene unit in southern Florida (no, it wasn’t of CSI: Miami TV fame!) and has had multiple speaking engagements for the International Association for Identification, the largest organization for crime scene personnel.

Today, Dr. Rivera declares she’s thrilled to educate children, teens, and adults as she presents “the truth of God’s Word using science, showing how science confirms the Bible.” In addition, she leads Explore Jr., Explore Days and Exploration. These are hands-on programs (for ages 5–10, 11–18, and 18+) at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. Dr. Rivera also presents free Discover programs for daily guests at the museum. Topics include forensic fingerprint basics, forensic DNA fingerprinting, forensic hair analysis, and more. Dr. Rivera directs and teaches high school labs, such as the popular High School Lab Forensic Science program, in the new state-of-the-art laboratory at the Ark Encounter and in the lab at the Creation Museum.

Dr. Rivera’s writings include the book Work of Your Hand: Fingerprints, God, and You!, a high school textbook titled Intro to Forensic Science from a Biblical Worldview, and articles in professional journals.

On days when Dr. Rivera is not hard at work teaching or writing, she enjoys hiking and traveling.

Fun Facts

Favorite verse: Proverbs 3:5–6
Favorite forensic show on TV: Forensic Files
Food she most misses in southern Florida: Authentic Cuban cuisine
Most unusual vacation: The Arctic Circle of Alaska with her daughter; they saw the Northern Lights, went dogsledding, etc.
How she first connected to AiG: Watching a video of Ken Ham
Favorite book (excluding the Bible): Lord of the Rings trilogy