Re: teaching material -Reply

[Kathleen McIntyre <mcintyre@mail.sep.bnl.gov>]

I would avoid use of PPEs...yes, the kids LOVE dressing up...but, be careful
what will be discussed around the dinner table:  "Ya know what, ya know
what?!, there was this guy, an' he showed us RADIATION stuff an' we had to
dress up in this stuff, ya know special gloves an' stuff..."   mmmm-hmmmm...  

I would use natural sources of radioactivity:  rocks, soil and so
forth...the collection of radon products on a filter (vacuum and coffee
filter) worked very well..we could discuss the concept of half-life as we
tracked cpm over time.  

Actually, I have found turning the kids into two atoms (consisting of
protons, neutron, electrons) and letting them "interact" was lots of fun.

The one activity children REALLY love is using your detectors:  hide a few
rocks, lantern mantle, etc.  Demo the distance and shielding principles and
let them search for the items.

I would like to share a letter with you from one student.  I had given each
child a set of marbles (one clear crystal and one exposed to a Cs-137 source
demonstrating a color change...thank you Linda @ ORISE) and I thought this
one was a particular "hoot": 

"Dear Mrs McIntyre, Thankyou for taking time off from your work and telling
us about your job.  I had a fun time.  You have a cool job.  Thanks for the
marbles.  I was in the bathroom and it fell into the toilet bowl.  I flushed
it and it made a funny noise.  It never came back up.  I lost my marbles.
Thankyou, Your Friend Sean Rothe " (the accompanying picture was "cool" too!)


Kathleen McIntyre
BNL
mcintyre@bnl.gov
Kathleen McIntyre
Brookhaven National Laboratory
129B
Upton, New York 11973-5000
516-344-5868
516-344-7497 (fax)

mcintyre@bnl.gov