Westinghouse opens its doors to Mars students
Nearly two dozen Mars High School students made the trip to Westinghouse in Cranberry Township to learn about the nuclear energy industry and for a tour of a simulated AP1000 nuclear power plant.
“In celebration of Nuclear Science Week, Westinghouse welcomed Mars Area High School students to spend the morning at our Cranberry facility to learn all about nuclear,” said Emily Kolek, public relations and social media specialist at Westinghouse.
The students arrived in the morning Oct. 16 and stayed for four hours, hearing from experts about the industry and engaging in hands-on equipment and an AP1000 simulator.
“It was awesome,” said Tina Yankello, Mars School District guidance counselor. “We had 23 students attend.”
After a quick safety briefing the students attended a lecture on the nuclear energy industry and the technology that makes it work.
“The speaker was phenomenal,” Yankello said. “The students were immediately engaged.”
Students then had the opportunity to use a Geiger counter to help better understand and calculate personal radiation levels, said Kolek, and toured an AP1000 simulator which replicated the sights and sounds of being in one of the company's nuclear power plants.
Students learned about some of the procedures nuclear engineers perform day to day and learned safety precautions employees follow in times of emergency.
The students also heard from experts about misconceptions surrounding the dangers of nuclear energy and heard the company's case for “why nuclear is not scary,” said Yankello.
The trip ended at noon and was considered an all-around success.
“The students had a ton of exposure to the variety of STEM careers,” Yankello said. “It's one thing to learn about it, but it's another to see it firsthand.”
Mars School District, through the guidance department, takes students on several trips like these each month to expose them to different career options, giving them a greater understanding of what they would like to pursue after graduation.
“We do anywhere from two to five a month,” said Yankello. “We also visited Local 66 last Friday for students who would like to work with heavy equipment.”
This is the third year the school has had this program.
Westinghouse hosted last week's trip in honor of Nuclear Science Week.
