Trinity Section, American Nuclear Society

Public Information & Outreach

THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Greetings to all Trinity Section members and friends! As the new chair of the Public Information & Outreach Committee, I'd like to solicit your feedback on a few ideas for outreach in this challenging pandemic. More traditional in-person activities have had to be curtailed, but there are ways we can leverage opportunity in the near term to develop a more robust and creative online presence, and there is also no time like the present for planning ahead for when circumstances become more favorable. My suggestions are hardly exhaustive; please feel free to add your thoughts via email (Carl Willis), or give me a call (505-412-3277). Once I have an idea of where membership interest lies, I'll develop a more targeted agenda for outreach that will be appealing and help us build a robust and active committee. I look forward to working with you!

Some outreach ideas:

Nuclear NM summer book club: "Nuclear in New Mexico," exploring the impact of nuclear technology on our state. The summer 2023 book has been announced.
Nuclear science writing contest (NSWC): Challenge our community to try our hand at something most of us don't do often: compose a short scientific article for a general audience!
Mentorship connections (via the website): Making nuclear science and technology accessible and enjoyable for kids should be a priority, and one good way of doing this is to help mentor students who have nuclear-themed interests and projects.
Science fair judging: Science fairs, typically in the Spring, need judges. Also, organizations like ours can sponsor prizes and scholarships, as we have done in the past.
Public-facing Q&A online: A platform for submitting and answering questions. The Health Physics Society has a good model.
Teacher workshops: Nuclear science only makes a cursory appearance in some HS classes, typically in chemistry (at the end of the semester). Some physics teachers introduce nuclear topics. There is a real opportunity and a proven model for getting teachers more literate and excited about nuclear topics through workshops. The national ANS website for this program has been down. However, the basic outline for these workshops is remembered well by many of us who have participated in them in the past.
Workshop kit assembly: We're uniquely situated with respect to access to uranium ore and surplus detection equipment; we could have a nationally-prominent role in assembling kits for teacher workshops.
Boy Scouts (Nuclear Science Merit Badge) and Girl Scouts (Get to Know Nuclear): The pandemic is a good time to coordinate with these organizations on presenting these curricula. Online presentations are possible.
Virtual field trips: Encourage institutions and businesses with Trinity Section connections to create ~15-min video field trips of their nuclear facilities, suitable for public viewing, to provide a verité-style walking-tour perspective on what you do, rather than a polished PR slideshow. I am finishing up one of these for the UNM nuclear reactor lab.
Nuclear@Home: short (5-min) videos focused on nuclear technology in the home, the natural radiation environment, and simple experiments approachable from a residential setting.
Direct outreach to schools: Classroom visits over Zoom, with either a live activity or a presentation, with opportunities for questions and discussion. Reach out via guidance counselors and principals; coordinate with individual teachers.
Environmental justice initiative: Support equipment, training, expert opinion, and other outreach to people in NM impacted by the nuclear fuel cycle.
Summer camp sponsorship: Thanks to Trinity Section for supporting UNM's summer camp development. We are planning a camp in 2021; further development is needed.
Internships bulletin board: Website-based board for posting internship opportunities (this is one of the biggest questions I get from first-year nuclear engineering students, so demand is high and I know many of our members work for companies that want to sponsor interns.

SOME OF THE PRIOR PAGE CONTENT:

ANS Trinity Section has a Public Information Committee, which supports outreach activities and the presentation of considered opinions on professional subjects of local interest. The current PI Committee chair is Carl Willis.

In 2009, 2010 and 2012, Trinity Section received the Best Public Information and Education award in the Small ANS Local Section category.

Join the Public Information Committee: ANS Trinity is expanding its educational outreach activities, and you are invited to be on the Public Information Committee e-mail list. Monthly e-mails will be sent to participants. When you receive the first e-mail, you will have the option to remove yourself from the list.

Members: thinking about running an outreach event? Click HERE.

Boy Scout Nuclear Science Merit Badge Workshops: details on the next workshop and homework requirements can be found HERE.

The ANS Trinity Public Information Committee: works closely with many local groups to organize and operate nuclear outreach events. These groups include the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, UNM ANS Student Section, NA-YGN Sandia Section (ANGLE), Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Resources:

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