[South Florida DX Association] How we get kids (and parents) interested in Ham Radio

[Bill Marx]

>From the KB6NU Blog:
How we get kids (and parents) interested in Ham Radio
Barry, K2JV, wrote this for the ARRL's Contact, an e-mail newsletter for 
PIOs:

The New Providence Amateur Radio Club of New Jersey has been actively 
introducing kids to Amateur Radio for about 5 years. The activities and 
events which we have mentored have been a source of considerable pleasure 
for the senior club members involved, but also require a considerable 
effort, both physical and mental.

Our formal programs include:

  a.. Kids Day twice a year, in cooperation with two township supported 
Recreation Commissions
  b.. Operating a GOTA station at Field Day
  c.. Running an after school Ham Radio Club at an elementary school
  d.. A program of "Ham Radio at Summer Camp," also a Recreation Commission 
function
  e.. Mentoring ARISS QSOs, 4 contacts at various school levels.
  f.. Kids march with the Club in the annual Memorial Day Parade. They carry 
the Club banner and each has an HT on 2 meters using the callsign of and 
supervised by one of our licensed members.
These activities have given us an "insider's look" at the behavior and 
interests of children, mostly of elementary and middle school age. Most of 
these programs include on the air operating on HF, and sometimes on VHF.

For programs of longer duration like the school radio club or at summer 
camp, it's usually pretty easy to identify those kids who show a more than 
passing interest, and get them right on HF. It is frequently difficult to 
establish reliable, clear communication on 20 or 40 meters. The stations 
contacted are uniformly interested in speaking with the kids, but most 
operators don't know how to speak with kids. The simple concept of speaking 
slowly, asking only one question at a time, and making that question 
something within the comprehension of a child, is something that most of us 
need a little time to grasp. The control op and mentor usually has to start 
the kids asking questions which will engage the person on the other end. 
Such questions include: "Do you have any pets?" or "Do you have any 
children?" or "What flavor ice cream is your favorite?" This clues the 
operator on the far end as to how to respond and how to ask a question which 
a kid can answer.

When we do "Ham Radio at Summer Camp" we are in competition with all the 
other activities which are going on. It soon becomes quite apparent however, 
that there are a few kids who will stay at the Ham Station for the whole 
day, and a few more who keep coming back - generally with the question "can 
I try it again?" These are the ones we are looking for to bring up the 
subject of Ham Radio at their schools and at home. We have prompted them 
when they return to school after the summer, and when their teacher asks 
"What did you do this summer?" to respond "Oh, I just spoke with a rancher 
in Arizona who raises Buffalo" or "I talked to a man who was in the jungle 
in Panama" or for our ARISS communicators "Oh, all I did was have a 
conversation with an astronaut on the International Space Station!"

One of the most important values of Ham Radio which we try to get through to 
parents and adults is that it teaches their kids how to speak with an adult 
who is not a family member, in sentences not monosyllables, and how to 
behave in the presence of a stranger. The science, technology, geography, 
etc. which they are learning even if they don't know it - is purely 
collateral.

For Kids Day, in order to insure plenty of contacts we usually have a few 
"ringers" listening on a previously selected VHF repeater or simplex 
frequency. That way when a kid calls CQ he is likely to get an immediate and 
clear answer (kids have a short interest span). After that, it's usually 
possible to get them on HF to make exchanges with other kids. Even the 
youngest, grasp the procedures for Kids Day almost immediately. We help them 
with a "crib sheet" which has the exchange written out, and they recognize 
the fact that the station contacted is sending them similar information. If 
conditions are poor, we have some "ringers" waiting on 20 meters too.

For an ARISS QSO, we have used "ringers" in preparing our Student 
Communicators. We usually do this on VHF simplex and one of our experienced 
Club Members becomes a "Simulated Astronaut." This allows the kids not only 
to get familiar with the exchange protocol which will be used, but also lets 
them practice the questions which they have made up for the astronaut, and 
change the question when they hear the answer. This is done under the 
supervision of the Control Operator for the QSO who is one of our "graduate 
students" having communicated with the ISS, obtained a ham license, but is 
still in Middle School or High School.

We have a few "internal rules" for our ARISS QSOs:

  1.. It's all kids. Everyone including the control operator is a "kid" 
meaning High School or younger.
  2.. No adults are visible on the stage, at least not to the audience.
  3.. It is advertised as "a conversation with an Astronaut" and the kids 
respond after their question is answered, thank the astronaut, and pass the 
microphone to the next communicator.
  4.. We introduce them early on, to a Satellite Tracking Program and the 
NASA website, which they are urged to use at home.
  5.. To get more kids involved we do manual antenna train and elevate, and 
manual Doppler correction. A separate group of kids (usually boys) want to 
do this.
My Summary
After 5 years a few generalities as related to Ham Radio can be observed:

  a.. Little girls like to talk to each other. We set them up in small 
groups, each group with a handitalkie. Using proper protocols and callsigns 
the groups play games with each other like "battleship" or some games using 
LEGO blocks, etc.
  b.. Little boys like to play with electronic toys and love Morse code. 
They use computer based Morse training programs and soon learn to recognize 
their names and the names of their buddies. We have them build code 
oscillator kits and make them work.
  c.. Neither sex has the capability to carry on a conversation with a 
stranger. They have not yet learned to initiate a conversation with an 
adult. They don't have this problem with their peers.
  d.. Both sexes tend to answer questions with monosyllabic answers. They 
can be prompted to answer in sentences, to speak slowly and clearly, but if 
not supervised they revert to their original style.
  e.. Girls have a much longer social interest span than do the boys. This 
is true for social gatherings like the games and communication exercises. 
The boys will work on the code for a long time, but this is a more solitary 
activity.
  f.. Boys like the complexities of games and puzzles more than girls. When 
on the air we can get them involved in the competitive and contest 
activities.
  g.. All children function better in a structured, organized environment. 
If the Ham Radio environment is made to feel like school, they can relate to 
it and will behave as though they are in school. Since most of their 
teachers are female, they all have far less problem conversing on the air 
with a YL (preferably a grandma) than with an OM of any age.