What once was a mystery is a mystery no more as multiple children of all ages descended Thursday on Dow’s Elizabethtown plant to learn what their parents do for a living.
In the plant’s first Bring Your Kid to Work Day, Dow Quality Manager Nancy McCoy, an organizer of the event, said about 70 children participated.
“We were very excited and very encouraged by that number,” she said. “I’ve gotten positive feedback from it so far. Everybody’s just loving it.”
Mirrored after another Dow plant’s program, the children toured the plant and participated in 10 activity stations, where they created their own sealant color, rode railcars and conducted science experiments with some of the plant’s engineers, among other adventures.
“We really like giving back to the community, and as a parent myself, my child has asked, “Can I go see where you work? Can I come in? Can I go see what you do?” McCoy said. “We learned that one of our other sites had done it, so we went and watched them and learned from them.”
Unlike an office where children often can come into the building, Dow has safety restrictions that prevent an unscheduled visit, McCoy said.
“There are a lot of hazards here, so we’ve taken that into account, making sure our kids are safe,” she said, adding the youngest participants are being escorted by a parent.
McCoy’s child isn’t the only one who has wondered what her mother does at work.
Logistics Activities Scheduler Kathleen Johnson said her daughter, Veronica Leslie, also was curious.
“She’s actually been interested in seeing where I work and the inside of it,” she said. “I always thought that would be really cool if she would get to.”
So when Dow offered the opportunity, it was something Johnson said she wanted Veronica to experience.
“It’s very hard to explain what we actually do and we all do different parts,” she said. “There’s a whole lot that goes into this, so they get to see it. The experiments they get to do for each department is very cool.”
Veronica, 12, a sixth grader at West Hardin Middle School in Stephensburg, said her father and grandfather also work at the plant.
“I thought that she just did emails, but she does more than emails,” she said of her mother’s job. “I learned that sometimes she ships things out and plans things.”
While that mystery was uncovered, Veronica and Keeley Avis, said the coolest activity was seeing Jason, a robot at the plant.
Veronica also learned about the shuttle wagon, which guides railcars into position, saying an operator has to have another person aboard to help with its operation.
The shuttle wagon was of particular interest to Jordan Cobb, 7, a first grader at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Hodgenville. He also enjoyed the science labs saying he thinks he might want to be a scientist when he grows up.
His father, Quentin Cobb, a production operator who mixes powders and polymers together to make sealant, said he looked forward to the opportunity to bring Jordan along to work.
“He always wants to come to work with me,” Cobb said. “He wants to know what I do. He’s only seen the outside of it and thought it was pretty cool, so I wanted to show him exactly what we do.”
Alisha Neagle, a scheduler at the plant and Keeley’s mother, said it was an opportunity she also didn’t want to pass up.
“When they announced that they were going to do it, I just thought it would be a great experience for her to come and see what we do as a whole,” she said. “There’s a lot that goes into getting product out to the customer, so we all have a little piece to that puzzle.
“I don’t think she was fully aware of all the different jobs that are here and maybe some of the career opportunities she can look forward to in the future,” she added.
Comparing it to a successful team, Keeley, 12, a seventh grade at LaRue County Middle School in Hodgenville said she enjoyed riding the train car and piecing the puzzle together.
“So much goes into all of it,” she said. “You have to move things, like the powder, or you have to use silicone to make the windows. So many people are working to get this one thing done.”
Neagle also was able to see more of the plant than she does regularly.
“I spend most of my day behind computer screens so I don’t get to up and see everything,” she said. “I said she’ll probably know more about this plant than I do before it’s all over.”
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