Adler After Dark

Location: Adler Planetarium

Date: Thursday, July 17, 2014; 5:00-10:00 pm

"Moonjump"

The theme for tonight was “Superhero Science” and Michael had sent us a summary of the two main experiments that were headlining the session.  They were called “Bulletproof” and “Slime Science”, the latter seeming a stretch – get it – for a superhero theme.  I arrived at Adler to see a giant inflatable “bouncy house” like thing outside and it was called “Moonjump”.  After signing in, I went to the conference room for our pre-shift pizza and caught up with my fellow volunteers.  One volunteer was asking another if she knew anyone with Chemistry background.  I said that it had been a while but I did know about Chemistry…a bit.  She said that she was looking for some household items that could be combined to combust – in a safe way of course.  Never in my laboratory experience had I ever tried something like this, though I said that the best bet was an acid-base reaction to produce gas.  She said that was common and wanted to use some everyday item like flour, that could blow up.  I said that such witchcraft was beyond me.

Michael handed us our shift schedules and I saw that I would be in ‘SVL’ for 30 minutes, followed by “Pocket Science”, then “Bulletproof” and finally finish up with “Pocket Science” again.  I told Michael that I had done slime many times before and it was polymers after all.  He asked if I wanted to switch and I said I would stick with what I had since I love mingling with the crowd.  At 6 pm we went upstairs for a tour and Michael showed us various stations such as “Mr. Freeze”, which was nothing but last months experiment with dry ice, but just re-titled for the theme tonight.  We then visited the slime station, which was in a small classroom.  Michael explained to the volunteers how it was to be done with the glue and Borax solution.  The fun part of this is watching people experiment with quantities to get the right consistency.

There has to be a better sidekick

In the ‘Planet Explorer’s’ section they were preparing the “Bulletproof” experiment.  There were 3 long tubes with a Ping-Pong ball in each of them.  Both ends of the tube would then be taped off and the tubes connected to a vacuum pump.  Then, after the vacuum was pulled, the tape on one end would be punctured, sending the ball at 300 mph towards 3 types of targets – an Aluminum foil, a plastic plate and cardboard.  We would then check which one of the targets had “survived” the impact.  The “Mission Specialists” would be conducting the experiments while our job was to assist them in preparing the tubes.  They said that we would be “Robin” to their “Batman”.  I am sure that there has to be a cooler sidekick that “Robin” in the Superhero universe!

It was 6:30 pm and I made my way to ‘SVL’, while getting lost as usual.  Cynthia, who is in charge, gave me a quick tour, including the cool touch table where visitors can explore the Solar System.  She also showed me the virtual reality goggles and headphones that provide the user with a unique and immersive experience.  There was a 3-D experience with ‘Mars Rover’ and a giant tube such as the one at the South Pole, where they measure “Neutrinos” – something that is always mentioned as the reason for peril in all the “Star Trek” episodes!  This is the most technical space in the museum and we had trained pros handling some of the demos.  My job was to get people excited for some of the exhibits.  The people coming in loved the touch table and why not!  That’s the kind of toy one wants for Christmas. 

My next task was “Pocket Science” and there were two options – “Meteorites” and “Space Food”.  I found Dave, who was handling Meteorites and took over from him.  While he had been working the people in the line outdoors as they waited for registration, it had dwindled by now and so I relocated indoors.  At the line at the bar, I started chatting with the visitors and my opener was “What’s the oldest thing you have ever touched”, going into the 5 billion years old meteorite and the “shooting star” analogy.  People would come up with different answers for the oldest thing, ranging from, “The Earth” to “Great Wall” to “Stonehenge” to my favorite, “My Grandma”.  One girl said that she did not care for “romantic things” when I mentioned “Have you touched a shooting star”, but fortunately for me her friend did.  I met a colleague from my office and did the act with her as well.  People were asking me where to get tickets for the shows and while shows are included in the price of admission, we were trying something different tonight.  We were asking people to come to the show location 30 minutes prior to it and pick up tickets, so as to avoid lines later.  The problem was that shows were getting full in minutes and you really had to be in the right place at the right time.  One couple had missed their chance and asked if I could get them in and I said that as important as I was, this was beyond my authority.

At 8 pm I went over for the “Bulletproof” station, where “Mission Specialist” Melanie was about to commence the next demo.  There was a big crowd who had gathered and they were asked to stand behind a barrier.  After pulling vacuum in each of the tubes, Melanie cut the tape and off went the balls with a bang.  Of the 3 targets that we had, the Aluminum foil was supposed to burst and it did not, the plastic plate did while the cardboard did not.  People enjoyed this one and as Melanie handed them stickers for their card, – they had to attend a certain number of events this evening and collect stickers for a prize – I started prepping for the next round.  This included replacing the plastic target, putting more tape on Al foil to stretch it; so that it would tear.  I also taped both ends of the long tubes…only to realize that I had not inserted the balls inside.  Yeah, that would have been awkward.

I was chatting with the gathered crowd and encouraging them to see other shows by getting tickets soon.  This led to 2 girls leaving, not exactly a great promotion for my upcoming act!  We started with the next round and after Melanie did her dramatic spiel and cracked open one tube, nothing happened…the ball did not rocket out.  It was the same for the other two tubes as well.  We realized that we had leaks and people were now heckling and booing.  While Melanie tried to pacify the mob, a few of us conducted a post-mortem and realized that there was tape stuck inside the tube.  From my years of trying to design vacuum apparatus in graduate school, I knew that there was no way a vacuum tube would work if it had impurities inside.  We made new samples and tried again, but without luck.  People were now even tired of booing and started leaving.  We did further investigating and realized that there was more tape stuck inside.  We furiously cleaned out the inside of the tubes and put longer strips of tape on the ends.  Basically we were trying anything and everything to make it work.  A volunteer came to take over from me at 9 pm and I was supposed to go for “Pocket Science”.  But I decided to help make new samples and show him how to be careful in doing so.  This time we took our time and even successfully tested one.  People gathered, and when Melanie turned on the pump…nothing.  The plug had come out!  I went and fixed that.  We ran the experiment and one worked and one didn't!  Oh well.  Melanie, who had been a tremendous trooper through all of the ridicule said regarding the one which didn't work, “It sucks”. “Not quite”, I responded.

My final hour was once again doing “Pocket Science’ with Meteorites.  I engaged more people and someone asked me if Adler had a glass dome to see stars.  I said that while there was nothing like that, the next best thing was the Planetarium where they could see the shows.  I also heard some negative feedback for “Bulletproof” and my response was to say that I could show them something better and then pulling out the meteorites.  I walked about and saw two guys dressed as “Batman & Robin” and even helped people take pictures with these costumed characters.  Then I checked out another polymer experiment that a “Mission Specialist” was performing.  At 10 pm I went back to the room where they were doing “slime” experiment and saw that the cleanup operation was on.  Michael and other volunteers were looking at pictures on a tablet to put back the room the way it had been prior to the evening.  Michael said that there was a kid’s camp in the morning and they wanted the coloring books and supplies just the way the kids had left it.  I helped with that and left.  It had been an interesting evening for sure.  Yes, there had been a failed experiment and I had been booed.  But one has to roll with the punches and accept the bad if one wants the occasional applause.  As ‘David Brent’ once famously quoted, “If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain”.

Read–With-Me At HGS

Location: House Of The Good Shepherd

Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2014; 6:20-7:45 pm

Wilson was leading tonight and like the good old days, I received a long welcome email the previous night.  I have said it before and I will say it again: There is no other leader in Chicago Cares more committed than Wilson.  I arrived at HGS to find that several volunteers were already waiting though there was no sign of Wilson.  He was in fact the last to arrive.  We started going down to the reading room and I was in the lead with other volunteers following me.  And of course, I led them down the wrong path.  Some things don’t change.  While we waited, I learned that almost everyone had been here before, making my getting lost more embarrassing.  It serves me right for trying to show off my HGS pedigree!

The kids came in and the one with whom I usually work with went and grabbed someone else.  But there was another who came and took my hand.  This heartwarming way through which most of the kids over here greet volunteers is one of the reasons that I like coming here.  Wilson asked us all to stand in a circle for an ice breaker and today's’ topic was “Favorite junk food”.  He said that we should go around the circle and introduce ourselves and my kid took that literally, and went to each person in the circle and told them his name.  This led to everyone doing the same.  In terms of the junk food, there was a distinct sweet theme with ice cream and chocolates like ‘Reese’s’ and ‘M&M’s’ being mentioned.  I said, “Chocolate desserts”.  Wilson mentioned some chocolate covered funnel cake that he had found in the south side.  Definitely need to check that out!

I was engrossed in this one

I asked my kid to pick a book and he did so without really looking.  He was in a mood for playing with another kid and they were having a good natured fight, meaning Wilson had to separate them when the other boy asked to join us.  My kid said that he was his best friend.  We sat on the couch and had a collection of 16 books for early readers which were too junior for him.  Another kid came and asked if he could share the books and my kid said sure.  The other one then selected the ones he wanted and left the rest of us.  My kid didn't care that much.  We then breezed through the books, each being only 8 pages.  He had a habit of starting in the middle and I was insisting that he start from the begining.  After repeating that time and again, at one stage when he opened to page 4 by mistake and I had repeated myself, he finally said “yes, yes I know”.  The kid with whom I had worked last time while lying on the rug, was doing the same with his volunteer today.  My kid and I next started with a book called, “Don’t’ be my Valentine”.  It appeared to be an interesting story, though it was 60 pages long and at one stage my kid started getting tired.  I started reading alternate pages but he was now bored, but I wanted to see how it ended and so I did!

We had some time before our activity and my kid was now lazing saying that he was falling asleep.  He said that he wanted to tear up the books that he hated and asked me to join him.  I said that I’d make him a deal.  First he should read all the books that were over there and then select the 10 that he hated and if he was able to do that, I would join him in his destructive endeavor.  But we would not do anything till he had read all of them.  Before he could argue too much, Wilson announced the game for the evening.  Initially we had planned to go outside, but because of the rain, we were forced to stay indoors.  The idea of the game was to pick a letter from a deck of cards – vowels and consonants – and run across an obstacle course comprising of glue bottles to write a word using that letter on a board.  The person then had to run back and tag a teammate who would do the same.   Each time someone hit an obstacle, they would have to re-start the process with a new card. 

The words: Can you say dinosaur?

We split into two teams and I was with my kid, his best friend and another girl.  The second team was with all kids, meaning I was the only adult playing.  We started well, and since we had slightly older kids in our team, were ahead quite easily.  The boys were making a theater of running through the course, but did not really touch any of the obstacles.  Whenever my turn came, I would show them the letter and ask for recommendations, encouraging them to give me longer words.  For example, for “X” they said “X-ray”, but I chose “Xylophone”.  I was also getting a lot of animals, though I did mess up the spelling for "Dinosaur"! 

Our time was up and all of the kids had loved this spelling activity.  It was time to check the words and Wilson gave the other team extra credit for words like “Yo-yo”.  Maybe I should have kept “X-ray”.  Plus he threw out my misspelt “Dinosaur”.  Though our team had more words, we said that it was even and so everyone got a prize – “Oreo Birthday Cookies”.  The kids left and we helped clean-up.  I told Wilson this game had a great idea and we should make it more interesting by having each round be for different categories like color, animals etc.  He said that he would do a similar game for the drama project next week, something for which my kid had invited me.  Maybe someday I will.  For now, I left after another fantastic evening.

Zoo Guest Relations Volunteer

Location: Lincoln Park Zoo

Date: Sunday, July 13, 2014; 1:00-5:00 pm

Who doesn't like ice cream

I was a bit early for my shift and so stopped by to see the Gorilla’s, which probably wasn’t wise since some of them were relaxing in a hammock and it made me yearn for a nap…not ideal before a shift.  I arrived at the volunteer office and saw that Jen was the volunteer coordinator present and she was with Judy, Pat and some other volunteers whom I had not met earlier.  There were also giant tubs of ice cream on the table along with bottles of fudge, caramel and some sprinkles.  Jen told us that today was the start of ice cream social week for the volunteers and I was just in time for that.  So much for me wanting to nap, give me ice cream any day and twice today!  Some other volunteers from ‘Farm In The Zoo’ came over for ice cream and we mingled with them.  There is nothing like ice cream to bring people closer.  The other new thing in the office was a giant poster for “Zoo Keeper appreciation week” and we were encouraged to sign that.  One of my friends is a ‘Zoo keeper’ with the Apes and so I signed my name over a picture of a Gorilla.  Now it was time for our shift.

My first stop was at ‘Gateway’ for a couple of hours and I was paired with another seasoned volunteer, Rose.  It was the usual influx of visitors, most of them asking for either a map or directions to the bathroom.  Besides this, a few came over to either borrow or return wheelchairs or the occasional visitor looking for specific animals like the Kangaroo’s.  A little boy came in with his mom and after looking around she said to him, “See, there are no animals here”.  Without missing a beat, Rose pointed at me and said, “Unless you are referring to him”.  Oh well, everyone’s a comedian! 

Three people came in and asked directions to the nearest train station and I said it was a good mile away, which is comfortable walking distance for us Chicago folks.  Well, they were visitors and doing touristy things.  They were headed to Hancock building and I told them the insider secret of going up to the ‘Signature Lounge’ for a drink and the view rather than paying for the observation deck.  They seemed pleased with that and thanked me before leaving, meaning I had another satisfied customer.  A ‘Chicago Police Department’ cop stopped by to collect some parking permits since the Mayor was visiting the waterfront.  I chatted with him as we waited for the permits to be ready and he mentioned that despite growing up in Chicago, he had not known that the zoo was free.  I hear this with visitors who cannot believe that they can enter for free.

My time at ‘Gateway’ was flying by and things were going well, despite a call for medical staff for someone who had fallen down and request for some band aids.  I spent some time learning how to work the membership system and at one point had to go and tell a couple of kids that could not ride their bikes inside the zoo. At 3:30 pm I was relieved and was going to be placed near ‘Brauer Gate’ for the remaining 90 minutes.  I went over to the volunteer office to pick up the radio, my clicker and several hundred maps.  It was a very hot day and I found myself a tiny sliver of shade and started greeting people as they came in.  Many stopped to ask directions for bathroom though there were a few who wanted to know how to get to the Giraffes.  I would usually pull out the map and then show them the two ways through which they could get there.  Some wanted to get to the “petting zoo” while the lady who was looking for the Kangaroo’s earlier was still looking and stopped by for directions.  I had a great time interacting with the guests, though I did have to tell a woman that dogs weren’t allowed. By end of shift I had given away 2 stacks of maps and then it was time to go.  I dropped off my radio and recorded my 378 interactions in the log book.  Not bad for someone on their second day on the job. 

“The views expressed on this weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.”

American Cancer Society Making Strides Steering Committee Meeting

Location: American Cancer Society Office

Date: Tuesday, July 08, 2014; 6:00-7:00 pm

I had said at last month’s meeting that I could potentially request One Brick to help out with volunteers on the day of the event.  As such I had been in touch with them and Jesse to explore having some volunteers stationed at the ‘Children’s Tent’.  But this is not an activity that happens fast and so there was no resolution by this month’s meeting.  I arrived to see that we had only a few members in attendance this month owing to many being out for vacations.  A couple of ladies were handing out flyers for a 20’s style fund raiser to benefit the survivors.  It looked interesting but since it was going to be in the suburbs, it was unlikely that I would get to go.

Skin Cancer awareness ribbon

We started the session with Carrie telling us about a gentleman named Antoine, who was a male survivor – yes, there are males afflicted with this disease – and who had written a song about his diagnosis and treatment.  She said that he would be present at the event and perform his song live.  Katie then gave us the “Mission Moment”, where she talked about the risk of contracting skin cancer due to UV, which is a problem during summer months.  She talked about the “ABCDE” of “Melanoma”, which is “A: Abnormal growth, B: Border of the mark, C: Color, D: Diameter, E: Evolution of growth”.  Next, Carrie gave us an update on the number of teams, participants and the money raised; which was a 400% increase since this time last year.  It is safe to say that with her leadership, I would attribute this success to Carrie. 

She talked about the kickoff event on August 4^th and said that all of the committee members, including me, would be on registration.  She said that the speeches were currently running at 48 minutes and she was trying to cut them down to 45.  Following the speeches there would be a networking event should people want to participate.  For the day of the event we would start at 7 am and some students had been recruited as volunteers.  Speaking of which Jesse, who was on the phone, then gave an update on the volunteer situation saying that we both were trying to see if One Brick could help out.  She mentioned that the committee chair for ‘Children’s Activities’ had to step down and so Jesse was taking over that role.  I asked how many kids had shown up last year and it was approximately 200.  I said that One Brick could handle that and also come up with activities that do not require any funds. 

For ‘Promotions’, Carrie said that there was a company which wanted to put 500-600 volunteers to work on July 12.  She was going to have them put up pamphlets all over town, obviously only with businesses which would let us do it.  Next was an update on ‘Entertainment’ and once again, we seemed to have lost the committee chair.  Jesse was stepping in for this as well and she said that they were still looking at “Flash Mob” and “Zumba”.  They also wanted to do a “Costume Contest” and “Scavenger Hunt”, which I feel is always a popular activity because of the thrill of the adventure more than the prize itself.  The ‘Survivor and Caregiver’ committee was in the house –thankfully someone who had not quit – and they said that they had secured donations of gourmet tea, coffee and hot chocolate.  They had samples and from the packaging they looked gourmet indeed.  They said that they were also looking to set up a “relaxation station” which would provide hand and back massages, especially for the caregivers.  The theme was “Let us take care of you today” and why not.  It was a terrific idea.

We still needed food donations, at least enough for 300 people visiting the ‘Survivor’s Tent’, 200 for ‘Volunteer’s Tent’ and 100 for ‘VIP Tent’.  Carrie said that she was going to approach ‘Mariano’s’ and ‘Jewel’ as well as take what we could get.  My views on wasting food have been documented through the postings on ‘Wells Street Café’ and I said that we should have a plan for donating leftover food.  By plan I meant not opening all the boxes that would be donated, since once opened we could not do anything but throw it away if not used.  Carrie said that for their ‘Walk and Roll’ event earlier this year, some of the public school teachers had taken leftover boxes for their kids.  Now that was something I could get behind.  Speaking of food, there would also be Food Trucks at the scene and a percentage of proceeds would go to us. 

For ‘Advocacy’ the plan was still to have an exterior purse design and Carrie said that we could use red, white and blue streamers, which were leftover from 'ACS' offices World Cup Soccer party!  There was an ‘ACS CAN’ fundraiser in ‘Blackfinn’ on July 22^nd with a $40 entry charge for 2 hours of open bar and appetizers.  There was a debate on whether you would be required to buy tickets up front or if you could purchase at the door, and I said that you almost have to let people buy it the day off since many decide at the last minute if they have the time to attend.  Our hour was up and before leaving Carrie said that we should listen to Antoine’s song.  As we heard it, the lyrics were very hard-hitting, as he went through the details of his treatment.  It had been another productive meeting and despite losing some team members, we are well on track. 

Zoo Guest Relations Volunteer

Location: Lincoln Park Zoo

Date: Sunday, July 06, 2015; 1:00-5:00 pm

I was supposed to start my career at the zoo last week. However, I had to go look for apartments and could not make it, thus requesting that I push back my start date by a week.  I generally do not like going back on a commitment, but unlike regular staff members, I have to find the balance between my volunteer work and doing chores when I have free time.  The following weekend I was travelling for July 4^th and so as to make it back on time, I took an early morning flight back.  I went home from the airport and after a quick change into my uniform, arrived at the zoo on time. 

Lincoln Park Zoo

I went in the volunteer room and checked in with Tessa.  She told me that I would be paired with another volunteer Judy and she would be training me on the job.  Every session starts with a pre-shift meeting and besides Judy and Tessa, there were other volunteers Pat and Rhia, whom I had met at last year’s One Brick ‘Zoo Lights’ event; as well as a new ‘GEA’ volunteer Dave, who was starting today as well.  Tessa told us about the happenings at the zoo, including a “photo of the week” of some camels.  As we went over the shift notes, she gave us some vouchers for a program that they were trialing, called “Fix It Now”.  Through this, if we were to encounter a kid who was upset because they had dropped popcorn or ice cream on the ground, as good customer service, we were authorized to given them this voucher for replacement…and be judicious about our choices to do so.

At 1:30 pm Judy, Rhai and I walked over to the information center, ‘Gateway’, which would be our base for the next one hour.  I had a clicker with me to record the number of interactions that I would have and Judy carried the walkie.  She started my training by giving me the basics of the place and introduced me to the center supervisors, Alex and Chris.  She showed me where the security guards sat and the medical station.  This was followed by a tutorial on answering the phone, processing refunds – in case people lost money at vending machine – looking up memberships, handing member’s gifts, allocating wheelchairs and instructions on how to handle general inquiries and tasks.  We also looked at big folders that carried more details on the zoo as well as the Lincoln Park neighborhood. 

I sat at the desk with Rhia and my task was to operate the clicker to count the number of people coming inside for inquiries, of which there were plenty.  Most of them of course dealt with directions to the nearest bathroom, which was in the ‘Lionhouse’ across the courtyard.  Judy said that she was impressed with how effortlessly I was able to handle this task, and why not?  Giving precise directions to the nearest bathroom is not easy, especially if people are in a hurry to go!  Other people came over to either pick-up or return wheelchairs and my task was to bring the wheelchair or fold and take it inside; as well as handle the driver’s license which borrowers had to leave behind as collateral. 

At 2:30 pm, Judy and I picked up a bunch of zoo maps and walked over to the ‘West Gate’ to greet visitors and offer them maps; and boy did we go through them.  Everyone wanted a map as they came in and sometimes every person in the family asked for one.  I was greeting people who entered and thanking others as they left.  Plus I was recording the interactions.  Almost every visitor was friendly and smiled as they passed by.  Judy then took me to the ‘Children’s Zoo’ and showed me some of the highlights, including where the Beavers and the Sea Otter’s resided.  Our next duty was once again at the ‘Gateway’ but since Pat had everything in there under control, Judy took me for another walk and this time we saw an Owl pair, a Bald Eagle – who are not to be kept in captivity unless injured – the Rhino family, including an 11 month old infant, and a tiny Bear.  While doing so we were having a lot of interaction with the visitors, including a couple from France and another family with kids.  Judy is really good at answering questions and it was great to observe and learn.  There was some construction going on for new exhibits and I asked Judy what happens to the animals.  She said that they are usually moved to another zoo, as will be the case with the Polar Bear when they start work on the Penguins exhibit in that space.

We came back to the ‘Gateway’ and I once again resumed my duties of directing people to the bathroom, which is a noble task in itself.  Many others came in for maps and some for membership, which is one way through which the zoo actually makes money.  Once again, this is a free zoo folks.  I chatted with Pat and she asked me why I was volunteering at the zoo and I responded, “Why not”.  She said that she loved the zoo since she had been a kid and has now been volunteering for the past 15 years!  Around 5 pm, Judy and I went back to the volunteer room and I signed off on her training sheet.  She had been a fantastic teacher and a pleasure to work with.  It had been a slightly warm, but lovely day nevertheless.  I look forward to my next shift the following Sunday. 

“The views expressed on this weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.”

Wish Child Julia

Date: May-June 2014

My ‘Wish Partner’, Kiran, and I had not gotten off to a good start with our first wish.  This had led to that wish being put on hold and as such we had been assigned a new ‘Wish Child’ as well as a new ”Mentor”.  The name of the child was Julia, a lovely 13 year old girl.  We had to schedule a visit with the family and so I tried calling her mom with no luck, leaving a message at each instance.  We had been told the importance of patience and that the family may not respond in a timely fashion.  However my partner was able to reach her and then it was a question of 4 parties – me, my partner, our mentor and most importantly, the family – finding a common time for us to schedule a visit.  This was a task far more difficult than organizing a ‘G-20’ summit.

We finally found a day in May and my partner and I met our mentor, Bridget, at a coffee shop in the neighborhood where the family lived.  Our little girl was a fan of cupcakes and just had a birthday recently.  So I thought that it would be a good idea to get her a cupcake.  I left my colleagues in the coffee shop and went to a nearby ‘Jewel’ to find something, but to no avail.  I came back and admitted defeat, only to realize that the coffee shop that we were at had some nice cupcakes!  We got one and proceeded to the family’s place.  We arrived and were greeted by Julia, her mom and their 3-year old enthusiastic dog, Bella.  

We sat around the kitchen table and started conversing with Julia to get to know her better.  It was clear that she was popular in her school, since her classmates had made her a giant “Happy Birthday” banner that was hanging behind us.  We learned that she was a big fan of the movie ‘Frozen’ and like any other girl, loved pink.  That was evident from her clothes and the color of her spectacles frame.  Her other passion was water and she talked about some activities like surfing or swimming with the dolphins.  Bridget told us and the family various options that they had as far as ‘Disney’ was concerned, such as ‘Disney World’ in Orlando and ‘Disney Land’ in Los Angeles.  Plus there was a new ‘Disney’ resort in Hawaii that would give the family an option to do the water based activities that Julia desired.  It was looking like she was leaning towards that one as her eyes lit up when she heard about the possibilities.  We filled out the forms and said that we would get back to them as soon as we had met with MAW, and had more information on the options.  We left after a good meeting and it had been nice to meet Julia and her mom.

Next day I called Amy, the ‘Wish Manager’ at MAW and made an appointment to go over to their offices for a meeting.  I met Amy at MAW and she confirmed that they could do any of the options that we had discussed and that she would send me additional information on each, though it was clear that ‘Disney Aulani’ in Hawaii was everything Julia was looking for.  She could stay in a resort surrounded by ‘Disney’ themes and then either do a ‘Dolphin Encounter’ or Surfing lessons.  Talk about having your cake and eating it…with ice cream.

A 'Frozen' lunchbox for Julia

We scheduled a follow-up meeting with the family to discuss these options and as an enhancement; I went to the ‘Disney Store’ and picked up a Lunch Box with a ‘Frozen’ theme.  We decided to meet directly at the family residence and I arrived to see that Kiran and Bridget were already there.  We were greeted by Julia and little Bella and besides her mom; her dad was present as well.  One of the things that I noticed was the comfort level that Julia’s mom felt with us and she was visibly more relaxed.  I took it as a positive sign that we had managed to build that trust.  People find it hard to believe that others are willing to help them and so you just have to do it.  Julia loved our present and her mom said that she would be taking it with her to school.  We told Julia what we had learnt about ‘Disney Aulani’ and she was truly excited. 

We presented the two activities that they wanted to do and MAW would actually pay for one of them.  There was a provision that they could do the other one at their own cost and Julia’s mom said that would be willing to do it.  They also said that they could be flexible in their travel dates and even wait a year if it meant they get to go there.  I asked Julia what she would do if she saw ‘Frozen’ characters walking about in the resort.  “I would die”, she said with delight, as only a teenager can.  Last time that we were here, we had learned of Julia’s crush on a boy in school.  I asked her about him and she blushed deeply and hid behind a chair while saying, “I am going to go now”.  We left safe in the knowledge that Julia was going to get whatever she wanted.  Hey, she was going to a ‘Disney’ resort and swim with the dolphins!  MAW got to work and had soon scheduled Julia’s visit for April of 2015.  I for one can’t wait to see this one being fulfilled.  

Just For Starters Imperial Bingo

Location: The Imperial Nursing Home

Date: Thursday, June 26, 2014; 6:30-7:45 pm

Back at Imperial

I arrived at Imperial and as is my usual protocol, sat down in the lobby to wait for other volunteers and our leader.  After a while when no one had arrived I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one.  However, I saw some people go inside and they were indeed the volunteers for this evening.  I followed them and saw that Rosie from Chicago Cares was already setting up the Bingo.  I spotted a couple of ladies that I knew, Polly and Josie.  I reminded Polly that I knew her and she responded that we must have met. Indeed we had, for Polly is quite sharp as well as sassy and I have enjoyed my time with her in the past

Also present at our table was another volunteer Kate and she seemed to be a regular here.  I asked the ladies if they had any favorite numbers and Polly said 15, because her birthday was on July 15^th.  In fact, birthday’s is a main theme for favorite numbers as Josie rattled off several numbers, including her own birthday.  I found a Bingo card that had all of her numbers and offered to trade with her. But she said she would stick with what she had, though my offer was open.  Kate praised Polly’s green sweater and Polly said that she had found it in a store called ‘Unique’ for all of 2 dollars!  She mentioned that the residents were headed to a ‘Dollar Store’ tomorrow in a bus.  I asked how long they would be there and Polly thought that I was asking how long she had been at Imperial.  She said 2 years and I said that would be a lot of money spent even by a dollar store standards!  I asked what she was looking to get and she said that she wanted to find some rollers for her hair.  That’s fantastic I said and asked Josie if she was going.  She said no since she had forgotten to sign up and now it was late.

The game started and we were having the worst luck.  Polly said that she would go with all red chips since it was her favorite color.  I had all blue ones but even with this we were not getting any closer to winning.  While Polly was quite independent, Josie required some help and Kate was guiding her.  At one stage Josie thought that she had won, though it turned out to be a false alarm.  She wistfully looked on as a plush animal toy that she wanted was claimed by someone else.  I have noticed that they do love their plush animals here.  I asked Josie if she had many of those and she replied in the affirmative.  She said that she keeps them for some time and then gives them away.  I asked if she ever played with them and she said no.  I said that you have to play with a plush animal, remembering reading somewhere that hugging a teddy bear can help overcome loneliness, and that’s something everyone could use.

I was trying all color combinations for luck

A few residents had assembled at the adjacent table, though no volunteer was sitting with them.  Kate suggested that one of us should go join them and since she was set with Josie, I said that I would go.  As I got up, Polly asked if I was leaving.  Josie had just won a glass mug and so I said that I was just going over to spread the luck!  I said hello to the ladies over there, who introduced themselves as Debbie and Linda.  Soon we were joined by another gentleman, Ted.  Once again I asked everyone if they had lucky numbers and surprise, surprise, it was their birthdays.  I learned that Linda and Ted had never played Bingo over here and I said that we should make sure they win on their debut.  But that was easier said than done and try as we may – including me constantly changing chip colors – we did not succeed.  I asked what prizes they would select were they to win and once again they said a plush toy.  I mentioned to Rosie that she should more of those the next time.  In fact, a good Bingo project leader should observe the patterns and tailor their shopping accordingly.

We had reached the lightening round with 6 prizes left.  It went by fast and Ted did manage to get his hands on one of them.  Another gentleman who had won multiple times gave away his to Debbie, leaving poor Linda without any prize.  I pushed Debbie’s chair to drop her off at her room and saw that Polly was struggling with hers.  I said that I’ll help them both and pushed Polly inside the elevator first since she was getting off at the top floor.  She did not like facing the back of the elevator and wanted to be turned around, which was a challenge with other residents in there.  But I could see her point, especially since facing the wall of an enclosed space can be claustrophobic and that’s something the residents could live without.  We managed to get everyone in and then I dropped off Debbie and left.  It had been a lovely evening and once again a reminder why I like this place a lot. 

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy

29th Annual Hunger Walk

Location: Soldier Field

Date: Saturday, June 21, 2014; 8:30-10:30 am

I had met Carrie at ‘Adler After Dark’, where she is a seasoned volunteer.  She works for ‘GCFD’ and as such is involved in the annual ‘Hunger Walk’, particularly recruiting and managing volunteers.  I had offered to volunteer for the event but then during my project at ‘Coppin’, their volunteer coordinator Alyssa said that they had a team and I was welcome to join them.  I apologized to Carrie, but she said that as long as people were involved, it was a win for ‘GCFD’.  So after my debut at this event last year, I signed up for the sequel at this year’s ‘Hunger Games Walk’. Maybe I could "catch fire" this time.  Get it... Nevermind.

The Sequel

The ‘Coppin’ team was taking a bus from the center and initially I was going to join them.  But that would have taken away an hour of sleep, so I told Alyssa that I would see them directly at ‘Soldier Field’, though my concern was that like last year I may not be able to locate my team and so have to walk by myself.  I arrived to see the usual walk day festivities in progress including a man walking on stilts.  I went over to registration to check-in and collected my shirt and other things like cereal bars etc.  We were supposed to meet at the ‘Advocacy’ tent and so went there to wait. The volunteer over there told me that while the team wasn’t there yet, their main representative “Pastor Wilson” was already there.  Well, I had not heard about Wilson being appointed a ‘Pastor’ but with him nothing is impossible!  I saw Carrie and she told me that Natalie from ‘Adler’ was here as well and volunteering at the registration tent.  Since I had some time to kill, I went over to say hello to her and by now the crowd had really picked up.

I stopped by to see the entertainment on the stage and the came back to the meeting spot to find out that Pastor Wilson was there and no, it was not my buddy but a woman.  Also present was another team member Eddy and I chatted with him regarding our respective involvement with ‘Coppin’.  The organizers were taking pictures at a booth nearby and then asking us to upload to social media.  I asked Eddy if he was game and we went over to take a couple of pictures while holding some ‘GCFD’ signs.  In the meanwhile the non-Pastor Wilson texted me to say that he was with the ‘Coppin’ team and they were on their way.  The walk had already commenced and while our team was growing who, like me, had arrived directly at the site, there was no sign of Alyssa and the rest.  But I said to the others that it wasn’t as if this was a race and we would start only when the entire team was here.

Our team and the banner

Finally our team arrived, including Wilson, Alyssa, her fiancé Eric and some other folks.  They had a ‘Coppin Center’ banner and we all took another picture with it.  I looked around and spotted other familiar organizations like ‘Esperanza’, ‘La Casa Norte’ etc.  Wilson said that some of the residents from ‘Pat Crowley’ would be there and he would be walking with them while pushing their wheelchairs.  I said that I could do the same but he said that they had enough people and I should proceed with the original plan.  Plus, Pastor Wilson asked if I could help Eddy hold the banner as we walked and I said that it would be my privilege. 

We started walking with the team behind the banner that Eddy and I held, and following us was a band.  It was like having your own personal background music!  We crossed the start line with people cheering and proceeded down the route, going south towards ‘McCormick Plaza’.  As we entered the tunnel, the sound from the band intensified and Pastor Wilson said that Eddy and I should turn the banner around so that other people following us could identify who we were.  Eddy had to leave for his job and so Eric took over as my partner and we had a great time chatting about a variety of topics including how the ‘GCFD’ was subsidizing the costs of our shirts.  Well, they had enough logos on it to make a racecar driver proud and I was sure that the sponsors such as ‘McDonalds’ were handling the expenses.  Speaking of fast food companies, we talked about how so called “junk food” is now cheaper than fresh produce, thus contributing to the increasing problem of juvenile obesity.  But by subsidizing food they are at least helping the economically less fortunate and while it’s not ideal, I can live with that.  We also discussed topics such domestic vs international innovation and Pharmaceutical companies and patent laws.  Having worked in a start-up company I am a huge proponent of intellectual property protection and can discuss this for hours.  It was just a typical topic during a walk for charity!

It had been a terrific year

By this time we had turned around and were on our way back along the lakefront.  While there were still cheerleaders on the side, it was disappointing to see that there was litter gathering on the side of the road, including water bottles that had been handed to us en-route.  We were almost back and I had enjoyed chatting with Eric and Alyssa.  At the finish line I said goodbye to Pastor Wilson and other members of our team.  She thanked me for carrying the banner, though the pleasure had been all mine.  It had been cloudy and dark outside my window when I had woken up, but it turned out to be a pleasant day. As the quote below from Helen Keller emphasizes, it definitely is better when you are part of a team.  I hope to be back next year for the continuing saga of ‘Hunger…’, you know what. Maybe I can even take flight like a bird.  Get it...Nevermind.

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” - Helen Keller

Adler After Dark

Location: Adler Planetarium

Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014; 5:00-10:30 pm

With 4 projects within a month, it seemed like I was a permanent staff member over here.  Tonight was June’s episode of ‘After Dark’ and the title for this month was “Planetary Prom”.  The idea was to have a prom night inside the planetarium.  Michael sent over the list of experiments and the main theme was dry ice and the chief experiment was titled “Mars Ice”, well because it was set on Martian surface.  I arrived a little after 5 pm and joined the group for pizza in the boardroom.  We had a lot of people present today, including a college professor who had invited his students to attend the sessions that were on this evening, and then report back to him on what they saw and had learnt.  That is not how I remember my homework from when I was in school!

At 6 pm Michael assembled all of the ‘Education Hosts’ and we left for a tour.  Besides ‘Mars Ice’, other activities were making ‘ExoPlanet Scepters’, ‘Space Visualization Laboratory’, ‘Pocket Science’ and the ‘Historical Society’ had brought some props with them for educating people, and required some volunteers to stay and watch over them.  While on the tour, Michael said that I would be going over to help with registration and was required there immediately.  Before I left I got the first pick at the remaining schedule and so selected ‘Kepler’s Scepters’, ‘Mars Ice’ and ‘Speaking Historically’. 

I arrived at registration and saw that the people had already lined up outside the doors.  I could tell that many had dressed up as if it was a prom.  In fact, Adler staff members were dressed up as well.  The place had been decorated like a prom dance, including projection of songs from ‘Grease’ and ‘80s’ music playing in the background.  My task was to direct people to the open registration person who would check them in.  There were 6 ladies in charge of putting on wristbands and I joked with them saying that I would accept money for directing - or not directing - people to them!  The gates opened at 6:30 and there was a mad rush of visitors coming in.  I was directing them based on which registration lane was open or whoever had their hand up.  If no one was free, I would ask the visitors to wait and engage them in conversation, asking if this was their first time visiting, were they excited etc.  Two ladies, who were staff members, came over to praise me for my efficiency and asked if I had done this before.  I said no, I was just observing and reacting.  Its really not rocket science. 

Exoplanets

At 7:10 pm my relief had not arrived and I was supposed to be at my next stop.  Natalie said that she would take over and so I headed to the classroom which had the ‘Kepler’s Scepters’ station.  The idea was to get people to design ‘Exoplanets’ on a Styrofoam ball.  There were several of those lying around as well as sticks to mount them on.  Along with that there was paint and brushes and other decoration items like ribbons etc.  On the wall were mounted pictures and information on some of the actual ‘Exoplanets’ and people could decorate based on them or design their own.  They could leave their designs to dry and collect at the end of the evening.  People were walking in the classroom with their drinks in hand and when they heard what we were doing over here, were excited to participate.  I asked them what ‘Exoplanets’ meant and many said it was planets outside the galaxy.  I would correct them and say that it only meant planets outside our solar system.  I would then ask which their favorite was from the pictures that were up there and people would usually pick the one with brightest colors.  One of the planets had a ring and if someone picked that, I would encourage them to make that ring around their planet.  Many actually did a great job using a cup or a plate.  It was amazing to see peoples enthusiasm and many were leaving their scepters for drying on a cart before proceeding for the rest of their evenings activities. 

My relief came over at 8 pm and I moved to my next task, which was ‘Mars Ice’.  I was paired with the veteran volunteer Bob, who had come for my wireless demonstration at last weeks ‘Member’s Night’ event.  There were several demonstrations set up with dry ice, though the main one was to solve the mystery of the canals on Mars.  Bob was great at leading the visitors towards that experiment and I spent most of my initial time observing him.  First, he would start by asking people what dry ice was and many knew that it was nothing but solid carbon dioxide.  Next, he would talk about the process of ‘sublimation” and we would demonstrate that by adding water to dry ice and creating smoke.  Then we would form a soap film on top of the bowl, which would expand into a bubble due to the trapped smoke.  We were encouraging the visitors to create the film and many were failing and the bubble kept collapsing.  One girl got it though and it looked spectacular, like a crystal ball.  Next, we would put a piece of dry ice in a film canister and seal it.  We would ask people what would happen next and the answer was obvious.  The sublimation would build up pressure and blow the lid off.  As I did this experiment, I would usually ask people to step back a bit since it went off with a pop.

Finally, all of this knowledge would be put together to explain the mystery of canals on Mars.  There was an inclination with sand on it to simulate surface on Mars.  When you put a wooden block on top, it would not slide due to the friction.  However, dry ice owing to sublimation creates a thin film of gas between it and the surface and thus comes sliding down, while creating tracks.  This was the reason for the canals, not water as had been thought before, since that would lead to a delta.  Plus, when the temperature crossed above negative 109 degrees, the block would sublimate leaving no evidence. Bob would conclude by saying there were no “Martians” making canals, irrespective of what “War Of The Worlds” said.  People loved this experiment and many stopped by, asking a lot of questions in the process.  It was a fun way to solve a 150 year old mystery.

At 9 pm I went over to ‘Historically Speaking’ and there were 3 items on display.  Two were the earliest animation machines where motion could be simulated using mirrors and pictures.  The 3^rd object was a monkey who was placed in front of “Maxwell’s Triangle”.  There were 3 openings and you could do multiplication with the numbers in two holes and the product in the 3^rd.  It seemed like there was some confusion in scheduling and I was in fact supposed to at ‘Kepler’s Scepters’ again.  I was happy to do so and arrived at the classroom to see several orbs that were drying on the rack.  Everyone was having fun with designs and there were some creative ones there.  Two girls came it and called me “teacher:  I used that phrase to have fun with them and one of them was even dressed like “Cinderella” – without the glass slippers though.  One girl had made a scepter with 3 zones, one she called a zone for skiing and vacation, 2^nd at the poles for partying and the 3^rd was a heart shaped one where she said people could go for honeymoon.  Her boyfriend was making one with lot of colors and he called it a “Hangover planet”.  I said they should connect the planets with a stick, so as to have a direct line from her party zone to his planet!

There was a group from ‘Field Museum’ and I said that they should have an after dark program called “Shots with Sue”.  They enjoyed that a lot.  Another couple joined several orbs together and called it “Constellation Virgo”, though it looked like a chemical molecule to me.  One girl had tied her orb with ribbons and said that hers existed in another universe.  I said that laws of physics may be different in that universe and so there was no reason why a planet could not exist with ribbons.  I said that with trillions of planets, everyone’s design may exist somewhere.  Time was running out though and people were coming in.  They were pleading to make spheres, saying they would be fast.  By far this has been one of the most popular programs that I have attended here. 

We closed at 10 pm and had to turn away a few disappointed people.  Then we mounted all of the scepters on trolleys and moved them to the hallway.  After that Michael, I and couple of other volunteers cleaned up the room to the best of our ability.  We threw away plates with paint and other garbage and put all of the supplies on trolleys.  Also, we put the chairs on the tables, so that the cleaners could mop the floor which had some paint stains.  I left in the rain and waited for the bus with some of the visitors.  It had been a long and exhausting night, but one of the best ‘Adler After Dark’ events for me.  

Lincoln Park Zoo Guest Relations Volunteer Training

Location: Lincoln Park Zoo

Date: Friday, June 13, 2014; 11:00 am-3:00 pm

It was a nice day to be at the zoo

Like ‘Adler Planetarium’, the Zoo also required 4 rounds of training and orientation and this was the final one before I could be eligible as a ‘GRV’.  Furthermore, they schedule these training's sporadically and rarely on weekends.  So I had to take a day off from work to attend this.  I was asked to come to the information center at the zoo, known as ‘Gateway’.  I arrived to find that 3 other volunteers were waiting there along with our instructor, Jeremy.  He took us to the 'GRV' offices, which are located in the ‘Primate House’ and told us the code to get inside.  Once inside, we were joined by another staff member Tessa, whom I remembered as a former ‘ACS’ employee and whom I had seen at ‘Walk & Roll’ last year.  It’s indeed a small world when it comes to nonprofits. 

Besides me there was another lady and an older couple who were planning to volunteer together.  As an icebreaker Jeremy asked who our favorite animal was.  I said that mine was a dog, someone who wasn’t even allowed inside the zoo!  Jeremy then asked us what the zoo meant for each of us and everyone had different answers.  I said that for me it was family and friends, since no one goes to the zoo by themselves, unless they have a specific task in mind like photography.  Tessa then asked us about our earliest zoo memory or our first memory with this zoo.  I once again repeated my story from childhood where the monkey pulled my hair.  For this particular zoo, I told them how I was exploring 'Lincoln Park' one evening after moving to Chicago and had stumbled upon the zoo by accident.  I couldn't believe it then and I still find it amazing that the zoo is free to the public.

We then went through the handouts that were in front of us, including how to handle some tough questions, such as “Why don’t you have elephants at the zoo?” Our response was to turn the question into something positive such pointing out that “Yes, we once did have elephants, but moved them away and now that space is used for rhino’s and oh by the way, the rhino just had a baby”.  We were told not to communicate animal names to visitors since most of the animals responded to their names and that could lead to some problems.  Beth, another staff member, came and talked about the ‘Guest Engagement Ambassador’ or ‘GEA’ program and how different that program is from ‘GRV’.  We learnt that ‘GEA’s’ walk around with carts and engage visitors in discussions on focused topics.  It sounded very much like my role at ‘Adler’.

Next the 4 volunteers in training, along with Tessa and Jeremy went out into the zoo.  It was a nice day and several visitors were enjoying their day over here.  We walked over to one of the entrances, but not before stopping over to look at the baby kangaroo.  At the gates we did some roleplaying with Jeremy being a visitor and the two ladies in our volunteer group being the ‘GRV’s’.  In the first scenario Jeremy was playing nice and in the second, he was a disgruntled guest.  In both cases, the women did a great job in handling him.  After this we walked over to the ‘Farm In The Zoo’ area and saw several kids who were on a field trip.  They wanted to pet goats, but it was their feeding time and so were not outside.  We went inside the volunteer area for this section and met the folks there.  We would not be working over here, though it is nice to know the location and the people.

Next it was time for a lunch and all of us went our own way for 45 minutes.  I grabbed a sandwich in the cafeteria, which was bustling with visitors.  We assembled after lunch outside the ‘Lion House’ and Jeremy talked about handling messages on the two way radio, including dealing with lost children and suspicious materials.  Besides radios, we would also be carrying counters that we were to click with each interaction with the visitors, and that included smiling!  We went back inside for a quick office tour, including how to use the check-in system, which wished me Happy Birthday!

We saw the “Volunteer Wall Of Fame”, where you get an animal sticker after 100 hours and the sticker then keeps moving up a winding path as you put in more time.  There were a few stickers that were quite high up.  Also saw the scheduling board where our daily assignments would be posted.  Our final stop was at ‘Gateway’, which in the information center for the zoo.  Every volunteer would be posted their at least once during their weekly shift.  We met 2 volunteers there who have been doing this for almost 18 years!  They told us our typical duties, which would be to hand out maps, rent strollers and of course, point people towards the nearest bathroom.  With this place, we were done for the day.  Now I was a certified volunteer with the zoo and my first shift would be on June 29^th.  While I don’t suppose I would last anywhere close to 18 years, I hope I am at least able to achieve my animal sticker for the wall. 

“The views expressed on this weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.”

Adler Members Night

Location: Adler Planetarium

Date: Thursday, June 12, 2014; 5:00-9:00 pm

Back to Adler

This program would be similar to the ‘After Dark’ event, except that it was only open to the museum member’s, which meant there would be kids in attendance and thus possibly less drinking.  Michael had sent over write-ups of two possible experiments that we would be doing this evening – “Spectroscopy” and “Wireless Communication”.  As soon as I had checked-in at the volunteer station, he grabbed hold of me for an impromptu training session.  First, he gave me a tube with a grating at the end and asked me to look at the light.  The grating split it into a spectrum which was visible on the side of the tube.  The idea was to get the guests to look at tubes of different gases and the based on the spectra, identify it through the material sheets that would be provided.  Then, he showed me a small ‘mp3’ player that was attached to the back of a picture of the ‘Mars Rover’.  We pressed play and the through a laser pointer directed at photovoltaic driven portable speakers, were able to hear Elton John’s “Rocket Man”. The idea with this experiment was to demonstrate how we can communicate with distant objects.  In fact the simplest example of this would be the way our cell phones work.

After having some pizza, Michael assembled me and two other volunteers to allocate duties.  Besides the two experiments that he had shown me, there was another one called ‘Mars Explorers’ where the idea was to get the kids to build a habitat on Mars.  It had to fulfil certain criteria like fit in a given area and weigh a certain amount since more weight meant more fuel being required to lift off and thus more cost.  Then there were other things such as the structure had to withstand wind forces etc.  I choose the “Wireless Communication” to begin with and since it was a “pocket science” experiment, I took all the materials and set up shop near the main gallery. 

A few guys were walking about and I asked if they would like to do an experiment.  They were excited and so I went through my spiel of how we were going to demonstrate communication over great distances such as Earth and Mars.  I asked that if the two planets were not in alignment, how the signal would get through.  I said that we use satellites to bounce the signal, but in this case we would be utilizing mirrors.  I gave them a couple of mirrors and positioned them as a triangle to deflect the laser signal and it actually worked!  They were impressed and before leaving they expressed their regret that Pluto was no longer a planet.  This always seems to be a recurring theme over here.  I don’t think its necessarily because Pluto is everyone’s favorite planet, but rather because people have sympathy for anything that is abandoned.  Next, I found 3 girls and a lady near the Moon exhibit and asked them that if the girls were on Mars and the lady back on Earth, how they would call each other.  This time the music did not play and perhaps it was the lack of lighting that was the problem since the photovoltaic devices were driving the speakers.  I told them to imagine it in any case and then did a simple relay of laser using the mirrors. 

I went back outside to get a better signal and Michael introduced me to one of the other ‘After Dark’ volunteers Bob, who was visiting as a member.  Bob is a veteran volunteer and so Michael asked him to go easy on me, which was good since try as I may, the thing did not work.  Bob knew the perils of an experiment not going according to plan and was quite sympathetic.  I changed my location once again and met a lady with 2 kids.  I asked the kids if they knew Elton John and looking at their age, of course they didn’t.  I asked the boy the same question as before, which was that if he was on Mars how would he communicate with Earth.  Without hesitation he said, “Snapchat”!  Well, that would be one way I guess.  I continued engaging visitors and everyone seemed to like this demonstration.  At 7 pm Michael relieved me with another volunteer and I moved on to “Spectroscopy”. 

I was paired with 2 other volunteers and in front of us were 3 lighted tubes with mystery gases.  Upon looking at them through a grating, one could see spectroscopic patterns emerging and then using reference cards that had been provided; the visitors were asked to identify the gas.  The first tube was filled with “Krypton” and it showed predominant green and blue colors, but no red.  The second was “Neon” which had almost all colors and the last was “Helium”, which was predominantly yellow.  The problem was the ambient light that was interfering and thus making other colors appear.  I tried to mitigate that by putting some cards around the tube so as to block other light sources.  Like moths to a flame, people would get attracted to the colored lights and come inquire what we were doing.  I would ask them, “How would you like to be an astronomer” and then go over how astronomers can observe the spectra of distant stars and determine their composition and through that, their age.  Many people were competing to get the right answer from the various spectra in front of each of the lights.  Since I knew, I was guiding them to get the right answer by asking pointed questions to drive them towards the color we wanted them to observe.  I would joke with them that the way to identify “Neon” was that it looked like a cheap bar sign and that “Krypton” would be green, since it was “Superman’s nemesis”!  Kids and adults alike enjoyed this one and many got all 3 right. 

  

My next task was “Vacuum Chamber” cart and I had requested Michael to help me since I had never done this before.  We got the cart out from the storage area behind “Planet Explorers” and it was an extreme tight fit to get it out from there.  We took it to the lower level and parked it in the corner by the staircase.  Just as we had plugged it into the wall, a kid came over with his mom and started asking questions.  Michael is fantastic at engaging audiences and he asked the kid a lot of questions in return and based on the responses, I found the kid to be precociously smart.  Michael did the experiment with water where it boils when placed in vacuum.  Other people had gathered around as well and he was asking the kid pointed questions.  I asked him if we could cook an egg in the water and the answer of course is no, since there is no heat source to provide energy.  Even though the water was boiling, it was in fact cold. 

The crowd was enjoying the demonstration and if anyone asked a question, he would say, “there’s only one way to find out”, following which we would run the experiment.  We did the experiment with the marshmallows, where it expands under vacuum and then collapses; and  the same with shaving cream.  We did the experiment with the alarm clock, which you can see vibrating, but cannot hear since sound needs a medium to travel.  Thus the expression, “In space no one can hear you scream”.  Michael even asked the kid to design his own experiment, something that he hadn't seen before.  The kid put a marshmallow in the water and put it into the vacuum chamber.  As expected, the water started boiling while the marshmallow expanded and shrunk.  There was a mason jar similar to the ones used for pickling and the kid put the marshmallow in the jar and that went into the chamber.  As we pulled vacuum, the air got sucked out of the jar and while the marshmallow expanded, now the jar was sealed and so it did not contract.  In fact we couldn't get the jar opened with our hands.  I asked the kid what he wanted to be when he grew up and he responded that he wanted to be a theoretical physicist.  So he wanted to design equations and let someone else do the experiments.  He responded in the affirmative.  Well, he had been brilliant and I said that I looked forward to reading his papers, as his mom looked on proudly. 

It was 9 pm and the museum was about to close.  I took the cart back and parked it in the storage area and walked back to the volunteer’s area with Tom, a telescope expert.  I told him that one of these days I wanted to stop by for a look and he said that Montrose Harbor was having a ‘Chicago Astronomer’s Club’ telescope viewing party tomorrow and I was welcome to attend.  Well, that may not happen, but I do hope I get to see through the telescopes soon.  Michael apologized for “taking over” the vacuum experiment, but in fact he had helped me see how to engage the audiences and keep them entertained, while educating as well.  That in a nutshell is what I am supposed to do in my role.  I took the bus back after an enjoyable evening and look forward to coming back soon for the next event.