Many employees towed along children – sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandkids and even neighborhood pals – and participated in the events of last Thursday ‘s ‘Take Your Child to Work Day’. Children of faculty and staff toured the WUMB radio station, the Greenhouse and an anthropology lab. They played at basketball clinics and took a harbor cruise. They capped off the day by building – and devouring – ice cream sundaes.

At the ice cream fest, The Media Media spoke with four young friends Shannon, Taylor, Michaela and McKenzie. Shannon and Michaela’s grandfather works at UMB. Asked what their favorite event of the day was, Shannon and McKenzie, declared it was the radio station tour where they were each interviewed by the disc jockey and given tapes as souvenirs.

Seven year-olds Taylor and Michaela voted the harbor cruise best event of the day. Taylor said some children on the boat told her that they saw dolphins but she, unfortunately, did not. Michaela was impressed with the below-deck quarters, especially the beds that had “stretchy things on top”. McKenzie, on the other hand, was decidedly unimpressed, saying that in light of the fact that the beds were wooden and there was no bathroom aboard she would prefer a “cruise.”

When asked what they had learned that day, McKenzie said she learned in the greenhouse that “thingamajigs kill plants.”

We also spoke with sisters Ruth and Hannah whose father, Stan, works at UMB. Ten year-old Ruth told us her favorite event of the day was that she got to “tour a live radio station.” When asked if she would like to someday work at UMB at her dad’s job, Ruth diplomatically said “no, because probably I wouldn’t be good at it.” Ruth would someday like to be a writer.

13-year old Hannah said her favorite event was the basketball clinic where she learned to “shoot better”. When asked by a reporter to state her future profession, Hannah stuck with a firm, “I don’t know.”

Without hesitation, friends Holly, Raha and Catherine said they enjoyed the boat trip and the ice cream best. Holly said she was impressed with her father’s work. Holly plans to be a writer, while Raha wants to become a doctor. When asked if the boat trip made them seasick at all, Catherine said no, she had her “sea legs already” due to previous sailing lessons and was used to her family’s “35-foot catamaran.”

We also spoke to 11-year- old Devin who, having finished his ice cream, politely declined more while fidgeting in his chair. He told The Mass Media that he felt cheated due to the fact that he only missed a half-day of school to attend “Take Your Child to Work Day.”