Gold-plated dimes, expanding marshmallow men, plumes of solder smoke, capacitors, stereo glasses, banana hammers, doughnuts and ice cream were among the many delights offered up at the first Bring Our Kids to SLAC Day.

More than 150 SLAC staff members helped make the August 11 event special for the kids. Divided into two age groups, the 158 children took part in a wide variety of activities around the Lab.

In return for this peek into their parents’ world of science, the kids offered their candid observations and opinions.

Carol, 10-year old daughter of Sam Zalog (EFD), reported, "We made this energy thing. It’s a conti… continuity tester. You use it to test if things are working. It doesn’t work on people, though. They also had nitrogen and when you put things in it, they, like, froze. They put a banana in it, and it froze, and then they used it as a hammer."

Patricia, 12, daughter of Liam Robinson (SEM) said, "I think other kids my age should come to kids days at SLAC, you can learn a lot from it. It’s a cool experience. If they want to become a scientist when they get older, they should come to this ‘cause they can see what they have to do."

Barry Webb (HR), who along with Teresa Troxel (SSRL) was the Grand Master of the day, praised the contributions of so many staff members. "With 12 different workshops running simultaneously it usually takes about one staff person per child to pull this off. Those unsung heroes provide all the near-invisible work and heart that makes these days successful."

Sitting together at the ice cream fest were Nicholas Chen, 10, son of Pisin Chen (ARDA), and Nicholas’ friend Matthew Chuck. Matt, 11, talked about the frozen banana and the shattered rose, as well as the continuity tester. "I heard that the most important part is remembering the terms, but I can’t keep the words straight; they always have an ‘-on’ at the end and it’s confusing."

Nicholas is still "not sure" about becoming a scientist, but he would "definitely" recommend Kids Day to other guys his age. "You can learn quite a lot, and it’s still pretty fun."

"The best payday I get," Webb commented, "is when I watch the faces of young people ‘getting it’ when our workshop experts explain how things work in the world around them. That makes it all worthwhile."