"Where History and Science Collide!"

Welcome to the Fall Edition of the SRS Museum Newsletter!

Read on to find important information on upcoming events, see photos of recent events, read about our new staff members and a very special volunteer spotlight...

Upcoming Events:

Recent Events:

SRS Museum employees recently exhibited at the 38th Annual SEED Festival, hosted at USCA by the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center. Visitors and students were introduced to atoms and electron transfers along with the concepts of fission and chain reactions. Your favorite Museum mascot, Roddy U. Ranium, was on hand to take photos with his fans!

SRS Museum Education and Outreach specialist, Kelly Galvarino, presented the Nuclear Merit Badge curriculum for a group of scouts.

The students learned about the history of nuclear science and its practical applications in today's society. They participated in hands-on activities such as making an electroscope and representing atoms using marshmallows as protons, neutrons, and electrons.

A special thanks to Todd Lista for capturing some great photos during the event.

Around the Water Cooler

Welcome our New Employees:

Volunteer Spotlight:

Meet Dave Wilkerson

A Savannah River Site employee for 37 years, Dave worked in a variety of engineering and management positions with his final position being the manager of the Business Services group at the Savannah River National Laboratory. During his career on Site, he also served as the SRNL representative on the Site history and preservation team and as the manager for the excessing of SRNL equipment. In the latter position, he was able to review and determine if equipment being excessed had any historical significance. Thankfully, they were able to save numerous pieces of equipment, including 3 prototype robots from the 1980’s, various examples of experimental glassware from the laboratory’s research efforts, and 2 full-scale Hanford Connectors.

Dave assisted in organizing one of the first exhibits at the SRS Museum that showcased the early Site robots along with a Battle Bot employees created for use on several televised competitions. They toured various school groups through the exhibit and helped them with the creation of their own robots for state competitions. 

Dave continues to serve as a volunteer docent at the SRS Museum and currently serves as a representative on the Savannah River Site Heritage Foundation Board of Directors. 

Dave, we thank you for volunteering your time to help the

SRS Museum continue its Mission.

A letter from the Director’s Desk:

Greetings from the SRS Museum. We are so happy to share our recent and upcoming events with you! The past few months have flown by and we have some great events on the horizon!

One of those events is the installation and opening of our new radiation exhibit, sponsored by the Savannah River National Laboratory. With an anticipated opening in November of 2023, the exhibit will feature a new interactive geiger counter and a new touch screen with "Behind the Science" videos. While installing this exhibit, we are taking the opportunity to refresh our Fallout Shelter exhibit. We will announce the exhibit opening on our social media platforms as soon as we secure a date.

But, before we can get to November we have a festival planned!

In celebration of International Nuclear Science Week the SRS Museum is hosting our inaugural Fall Fission Festival on October 21st from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds of the SRSM and The Mill parking area (Laurens St. SW and Park Ave. SW). Exhibitors from many of our partners on the Savannah River Site, along with local and state institutions will be on hand sharing science related activities, candy, and other merchandise give-aways. The Museum will host a putt-putt hole, corn hole game, a "mad scientist," a "fortune teller," a free popcorn, and more! There will be a costume contest with prizes for the cutest, scariest, and most creative costumes. Kids can visit the SRSM table to enter a Roddy coloring contest with various age divisions! There will be a variety of local food truck vendors on hand if you want to purchase a snack or coffee. The SRS Museum will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for tours as well.

Fall fun is sure to be had by all. We hope to see you there!

Linda

A note from the Education and Outreach Specialist:

We are staying busy here at the SRS Museum.  We recently exhibited at the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center’s SEED festival which brought in nearly 3,000 people. SRSM employees taught visitors the “Anatomy of an Atom” where  children gained an understanding of the parts of an atom as they experimented with static.  After learning what fission means, they also set up domino runs to demonstrate chain reactions.  

October 21st is our inaugural Fall Fission Festival, a family friendly event at the Museum that will feature exhibitors such as SCDNR, Savannah River National Lab, City of Aiken Earth Day, SRS Women in Nuclear, and Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, all featuring science activities to engage children and adults.  The museum will be providing tours and I will be conducting “mad scientist” experiments throughout the event. 

Our August Boy Scout Nuclear Science Merit Badge program was successful, with 17 scouts earning their badge.  We will host another group of Boy Scouts in November for the Nuclear Science program.

In addition, I am teaching several classes for the museum at Ruth Patrick Science Education Center this fall.  The programs include “Radiation All Around Us” and “Modeling Atoms”.  These classes align with standards for upper middle and high school students.  

We are excited about our upcoming radiation exhibit installation and I look forward to the educational programming and opportunities that it will bring.

Kelly

A Special Thank You

to our

Sponsors and Heritage Foundation Membership!

Hydrogen Level Sponsors

$100,000 plus

Deuterium Level Sponsors

$30,000 plus

Californium Level Sponsors

$10,000 plus

Neptunium Level Sponsors

$5,000 plus

Oxygen Level Sponsors

$1,000 plus

Sustaining Sponsors

SRS Heritage Foundation & Museum Members: