If you saw a manhole open on the street, would you jump right in and explore the sewer system? Most of the students we spoke to at Boulder Bluff Elementary School (BBE) said they wouldn’t, but there are always a few exceptions! The school has been celebrating its career week and allowed us and some other lucky people to come in to discuss and demonstrate our careers and some of the equipment and principles we work with on a day-to-day basis.
We were tasked with visiting some of BBE’s third, fourth, and fifth graders who learned about Marine Chemists, confined space entry, atmospheric testing, vapor density, thermal imaging, and more during the short time we were in each of their classrooms. These students passed around one of our multi-gas detectors, compared the weight of balloons filled with air, helium, and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and watched as bubbles and yet another balloon floated in an “empty” aquarium… OK, it wasn’t really empty, and it was no mystery to these little Einsteins that the aquarium was really filled with SF6! We even found the time to take turns watching each other’s heat signature drawings as seen from our thermal imaging camera and vote on whether or not Josh made a fashion-savvy decision in wearing his bright blue, flame-resistant coveralls with reflective trim. Sorry, Josh; we decided “nay”.
Our gratitude is extended to the wonderful staff and students of BBE for the opportunity to visit and share a little about our career field with you. If the interest and intelligence we saw today is any indication of the future, we are positive we will see lots of new chemists in a few short years!