High school students make Test Site cleanup easy for kids

Caitlin Hudgins

Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | 8:31 a.m.

Elementary school children often look up to the "big kids" who attend high schools, so when the Energy Department's Office of Environmental Management was looking for a way to teach children about cleaning up the Nevada Test Site, it turned to students of the Advanced Technologies Academy.

The office created a partnership with the magnet school, creating a pilot program through which the A-Tech students created an interactive exhibit for elementary-age students.

The result was "Operation: Clean Desert," an exhibit currently at the Las Vegas Library that incorporates comic characters to teach children about different types of environmental cleanup activities that take place at the Nevada Test Site.

The display features a cartoon starring Adam the Atom and Dr. Proton, as well as moveable and interactive pieces to encourage a hands-on learning experience for children.

The Nevada Site Office for Environmental Management within the Energy Department provided the academy with a $10,000 grant over five years to set up a forum designed to provide a younger perspective on the office's communications efforts.

The forum consists of five to 10 academy students who are chosen based on a one-page letter stating why they want to be part of the forum. Students who are chosen receive a $100 honorarium for the year. Seniors who have participated the three previous years receive $150.

"Not only does it help the students learn to work with other people, it also gives them a way to build their portfolios," said Kelly Kozeliski, public accountability specialist with the Office of Environmental Management.

The students have a wide range of interests, including pre-law, computer science, pre-medicine and graphic design.

"We (the Environmental Management office) tailor projects to the students' interests," Kozeliski said.

For the Clean Desert display, the pre-med students researched the scientific aspects of cleanup, the pre-law students wrote the characters' dialogue and the computer science and graphic design students came up with the exhibit's design.

Although the exhibit is complete and currently resides in the Las Vegas Library, the student forum is still working on some possible additions to the display.

The group is in the process of printing a coloring book to supplement the exhibit and will come out with a Spanish version later this summer. The students also are thinking about placing a television monitor above the display to attract more visitors with an animated cartoon.

The display will move to the Clark County Library July 16. For more information, call 295-3521.