2018 Issue

36 Midafternoon each day we took our show “on the road”, walking a few yards over to the Kids Con section of the SLC Comic Con. This is where very young kids can meet princesses, play games, learn to draw their favorite characters and other age-appropriate activities. For about 15 minutes we got up on the stage over in the far corner, showed the kids the gyroscopes, and had them play around with them. We always ended with: “Be sure to visit our booth at spot 2440, we’re right next to the pirate ship!” Hundreds of kids and their parents left with good memories of cool tech toys and, hopefully, a vision of a STEM degree in their future. And our 30 vol- unteers left with great memories too. Here are a few: One kid told me he wanted to grow up and be a scientist. I told him that he could be a scientist today! Just follow the scientific method and you are a scientist. The LEGO Mindstorms kit, was a car that followed a black line drawn on the poster board beneath it. It stopped most every child who saw it. One of the little kids, probably 5, was glued into the robot and didn’t want to leave. That was fun to watch. My favorite conversations were with the youngest people, who were very sure of their plans to be scientists or engineers. They loved the Lego robot kit, and were generally eager to learn about the wind tunnel and the basic concepts of lift. I enjoyed hearing casual observers at- tempts to describe gyroscopic motion as ‘anti-gravity’. I knew I didn’t have the time to really explain all the physics behind the gyro so sometimes I would just say it was magic and often works better when you have a wand made of holly with a phoenix feather at its core. This always got a laugh. We were right across from mermaids and a full-sized pirate ship. The kids would see the gyros and light up, but then see the mermaids and beeline over to them. So, I went over and told one of the mermaids what was going on and why we were there. “Could you send them over to us after you talk to them… especially the girls!?” “Abso- lutely!” She said, “I’m an engineer!’” So, next year create your own booth or come join us. What cool toys could you or your company contribute? Charlie Vono is a past Chair of the Utah Engineers Council and past Chair of the Local Utah AIAA Section. Read his full bio at charlesvono.com.