Photo By Gary Ell | Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) Technical Director Nigel...... read more read more
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Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) on April 27, 2023 hosted its first “Take Our Children to Work Day” since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2019.
The event was met with enthusiastic participation from all involved as NSCPWD personnel and their families were able to share in a fun-filled day of tours around the campus and activities.
NSWCPD Technical Director Nigel C. Thijs kicked off the day with opening remarks.
“What we do here is very important for the safety of our country and whoever brought you here, whether it be your parent, aunt, uncle, etc., is really doing a lot of hard work to keep our country safe each and every day. You’re going to get a chance to see some of the labs, test sites, and some of the different spaces where we do our work to support the Navy and its Fleet,” Thijs said.
He concluded his remarks by emphasizing the event’s most important theme.
"Today is about family,” Thijs said.
An always popular tour attraction was the High-Temperature Superconductors (HTS) magnets and nitrogen-frozen ice cream activity put together by NSWCPD’s Applied Superconductivity Team.
“We [the Applied Superconductivity Team] have been doing HTS magnet and nitrogen-frozen ice cream presentations for years. My predecessors as team leads started with the liquid-nitrogen ice cream and we have expanded the demos ever since. We try to bring in things like Star Wars and those aspects to get the kids engaged, like we have Grogu [from Star Wars,the Mandalorian] floating on the magnet. We always have participated in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outreach. It’s good to get the kids involved,” NSWCPD’s Applied Superconductivity Team Lead Peter Ferrara said.
Taking on ice cream made with science is a tall task for anyone, but the activities during an open house held in NSWCPD’s largest conference room were able to hold their own in fun factor with the kids for the event’s duration.
“Watching the creations the kids were able to make with the Free Form Build and Play activity was amazing because it just started as a pile of wood. Then they put all of this together themselves, which is remarkable. It was interesting to see them convert things, make cars, and make tow trucks. One kid made a bow! It was cool to watch,” NSWCPD STEM Outreach Program Manager Tristan Wolfe said as the hands-on activities open house reached its end.
Another building was also host to several tours going on throughout the day, and onlookers could be seen marveling at many interesting sights including the massive hydro tank that NSWCPD Mechanical Systems In-Service Engineering Agent Mark Del Duke showcased.
“I was really impressed with some of the questions I was asked. A couple of them stumped me. A little girl asked me ‘How much does the tank weigh?’ and I stopped for a second and told her ‘I don’t know actually; I have to go back to the drawing and see if we have that.’ I have a bunch of other statistics, but not how much the hydro tank weighs. She got me with an unassuming question I wasn’t ready for,” Del Duke said.
Only a few steps away from Del Duke’s hydro tank demonstration was NSWCPD Mechanical Engineer William Wadsworth showing how tow cables are tested to make certain they can pull their weight for the fleet.
“It’s easy for engineering to become so professional that it’s not tangible for everyday use, and I think especially for kids, understanding the basic properties of engineering helps with everyday life and also gets them interested in pursuing careers in these types of fields,” Wadsworth said.
Wadsworth’s emphasis on tangible experience was later echoed by a young visitor to the command. NSWCPD Compatibility Test Facility LMS Lisa Sharpe’s nephew J.J. enjoyed the liquid nitrogen ice cream, but he came to NSWCPD with a future career in mind.
“I want to work in the military one day, but if that doesn’t work out, I’ll probably go for the police or firefighters,” J.J. stated while waiting for the NSWCPD Firehouse Tour to begin.
As the event ended, NSWCPD Contract Support Specialist Brian McGrath took some time to talk about what made command’s “Take Our Children to Work Day” such a special occasion and credited all the people behind the scenes who made sure everyone had a great time.
“The firehouse was one of my family’s favorite parts of the day. They really enjoyed touring the firetruck and being able to simulate putting out a fake fire. The HTS Superconducting/Ice Cream Tour was a hit; perhaps, it had something to do with the ice cream,” McGrath said. “Getting to create their own ship out of aluminum foil allowed my children to explore their creative side and use their imagination, and the [Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation-PIDC] bounce house was a big hit with my family as well. What really stuck with me was the number of activities and volunteers that went into making this event the best possible experience for our family.”
NSWCPD Branch Manager Greg Mann’s son Tommy was just old enough to make the cut-off age during the last “Take Our Children to Work Day” in 2019 so they were able to share the experience for the second time.
“It’s a good experience to have your kid get a glimpse of what you’re doing every day and get to spend the day with them, too. It was fun to see all of the things around the campus that you don’t see on a day-to-day basis like the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Lab and the Hydrostatic test chamber,” Mann said.
When asked what his favorite part of the day was, Tommy thought for a few seconds and said, “The ice cream.” Taking on ice cream made with science is a tall task for anyone.
NSWCPD employs approximately 2,800 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The NSWCPD team does the research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for the non-nuclear machinery, ship machinery systems, and related equipment and material for Navy surface ships and submarines. NSWCPD is also the lead organization providing cybersecurity for all ship systems.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2023 11:29 |
| Story ID: | 445100 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 270 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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