Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day

May 4, 2016

On April 28, Brookhaven National Laboratory hosted dozens of very important visitors. Children of employees from departments all over the Lab visited Brookhaven to experience a day in the life at a national Lab and learn more about what their parents do at work. The Lab also hosted children who reside at Little Flower Children’s Home. One group of students toured locations throughout the Laboratory, highlighting support organizations including human resources, the cabinet shop, emergency management, the motor pool, the water treatment plant, grounds-pest control, and the Lab’s police station. 

Children who visited the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) participated in a mock crime scene organized by Tiffany Victor and Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern Cecilia Osorio. The characters were played by NSLS-II employees with scientist Lisa Miller leading the team. Told that the mock missing item was a prototype robot named Alpha, the children were given access to the “crime scene” and clues that included white powder, a hair fiber, and a note that read, “I need this more than you do, sorry.”  The children were asked to figure out who allegedly “stole” the robot: could it be the scientist, the technician, beamline worker, or the administrator? Following the clues, the children successfully located the culprit while learning how x-rays like those at NSLS-II play an important role in scientific discovery.

Before going home with their parents, the children went to Berkner auditorium and watched a show from “Mad Science of Long Island.”

Started in 1993, National Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day gives parents an opportunity to share their workplace with their children, help youth understand how a workplace functions, and explore future possibilities for careers. More than just a program where kids “shadow” their parents, the national program aims to expose young boys and girls to mentors and show them the value of an education that can help them move toward their goals as young adults.

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