Nobody was interested in Morse Code until I mentioned that it could be
used for "secret communications". *That means that the parents and
teachers couldn't understand what the kids were saying. *Lots of
interest (and potential problems) there.

The problem with todays version of ham radio is that it's really
boring. *Nobody wants to talk to someone around the world, when they
can pickup a POTS or cell phone and do it with much less effort and
expense. *With the demise of Heathkit, building radios is no longer a
draw. *The magic of radio is gone. *


I have a diverse collection of demonstrations for them, hoping to
catch each one of them with something they find interesting. I have a
handout with eight Morse Code characters on it, enough to spell out
some easy words, They're mostly 4th graders. I'm doing magnetism and
communications and showing how they relate. I taught school in the
Navy, but I have no experience with little kids, except my own. My
Navy students were almost always well-motivated but I have no idea
what the 4th graders are going to be like. They are all in the
Gifted And Talented Education program and I think it's either going
to be great or awful -- no in-between.