Nuclear Zoomlians

A while back, when I asked the Zoomlians what they wanted to learn about, Zorg had said, "Nuclear energy, nuclear waste and nuclear bombs." Do we detect a theme?

When I was a kid, I got to tour a nuclear plant (energy, not waste or bombs!) so I thought I ought to be able you find something like that for the Zoomlians. I was wrong! Evidently they don't do that kind of thing anymore since 9/11. Although you can play Nuclear Tourist on line.

On the other hand, you really can find almost anything on the internet. I thought this was the best website for explaining nuclear energy. It's actually from the US Energy Information Administration, and it seemed fairly balanced. It's worth looking at their games and activities page, especially the one on slang used in the energy field.

We also found the BrainPop videos on nuclear energy, radioactivity and Marie Curie very helpful. Speaking of Madame Curie, in a bizarre crossover with the US History unit, did you know that the discovery of radioactivity happened during the same time as the Wild West and the Industrial Revolution? But I digress.

Best of all resources, as it turned out, were You Tube videos!

This is a good basic virtual tour of a nuclear power plant done by a power plant with a strong emphasis on how SAFE they are. Aside from that, it's an excellent clear explanation of the process. Did I mention it was safe? Ironically, I think what they are showing is a Japanese plant.

There are tons of clips of nuclear explosions on You Tube, many of them set to obnoxious music, none of which I can really recommend except this one, cribbed from a documentary.

This video I found on nuclear reactions more than made up for that, however! Here it is:


Which reminds me, have you seen Moon?