 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|
 Previous: The Toys Have Landed! 2005 Holiday Toy Drive Gifts Get to Gulf Coast |  Next: Weekends Best Time to Catch NA1SS on the Air |
 Six-year-old Max enjoys an alfresco QSO. [Mark Spencer, WA8SME] |
NEWINGTON, CT, December 22, 2005--The second Sunday in January is the day to turn your shack over to the kids for some ham radio fun with a purpose. The first running of Kids Day 2006 begins Sunday, January 8, at 1800 UTC and continues until 2400 UTC with no limit on operating time (the second Kids Day will be Saturday, June 17). Kids Day provides a terrific opportunity to show youngsters what Amateur Radio is all about--and that includes its role in emergency communication. ARRL Education and Technology Program ("The Big Project") Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, says Kids Day can be a great opportunity spark change and get kids and families thinking about emergency preparedness.
"While you are coaching the youngsters who visit your shack--and their parents too--on how to make contacts and new friends via ham radio during Kids Day, why not take a few moments to ask them about their family's plans to deal with emergency challenges?" he says in December 2005 QST (see "Kids Day 2006" on p 45). "Why not use the opportunities offered by Kids Day to show the youth in your neighborhood that ham radio can be loads of fun, and that ham radio is a way that they can contribute something very valuable to their communities?"
Call "CQ Kids Day." The suggested exchange for Kids Day contacts is first name, age, location and favorite color. It's okay to work the same station more than once if the operator has changed. Suggested frequencies are 14.270-14.300, 21.380-21.400 and 28.350-28.400 MHz. Contacts via VHF repeaters are okay too, with permission from the repeater owner. Observe third-party traffic restrictions when making DX QSOs.
All participants are eligible to receive a colorful
certificate, which becomes the youngster's personalized "sales brochure" for
ham radio. The League asks everyone taking part in Kids Day to complete a short survey and
post comments afterward. Doing this provides access to download the certificate
page, or participants can send a 9x12 self-addressed, stamped envelope to
Boring Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 1357, Boring, OR 97009.
 Eight-year-old Sophia chats, while Marin, also 8, looks on. [Mark Spencer, WA8SME] |
Spencer notes that this year's hurricane season highlighted one of the real values that ham radio brings to the community--a spirit of resilience. "By their very nature, ham radio operators are interested in personal preparedness and community service...this is resilience," he says. Spencer suggests that Kids Day sponsors take advantage of the opportunity to show how ham radio offers a way for participants to contribute something very valuable to their communities.
"A very effective advertising strategy is to get kids hooked on an idea," he says. "The kids in turn go home and 'bug' their parents about the idea. You plant the seed in a young mind, and they will take care of the rest!"
Spencer believes Kids Day activities can result in a family emergency plan campaign that could save lives, and future community planners who know communication and how to communicate.
"Make that personal connection that may result in a new licensee and, perhaps, more resilient individuals by opening your station and inviting kids and neighbors to share in your hobby," Spencer urges. "You just might find yourself re-infected with that enthusiasm that you once had."
Spencer also invites Kids Day participants to listen for
him, operating from WA8SME, during Kids Day. "I'd love the opportunity to talk
to the kids at your station," he says.
| Previous: The Toys Have Landed! 2005 Holiday Toy Drive Gifts Get to Gulf Coast | Next: Weekends Best Time to Catch NA1SS on the Air |
