Carnegie Mellon University

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The voice for staff at Carnegie Mellon University

Staff Council  ›  What We Do  ›  Take Our Children to Work

Take our Children to Work Day  April 25th 2024 Schedule of Events

Our annual Take Our Children to Work Day event is right around the corner, and we couldn't be more excited!  Before we dive into all the fun, we wanted to share a few important reminders about this year's event.  
  • Children MUST be chaperoned the entire time; this is not a drop-off event.
  • If you are chaperoning children in multiple age groups, everyone should remain together in the younger age group.
  • Lunch will not be provided this year, so please plan accordingly.  Check out the campus dining locations.
The schedule of events is below.  All programming will take place at the Cohon University Center.  If you're unfamiliar with the CUC, maps of the 1st and 2nd floors can be found here. 

TOCTWD 2024 schedule

Fire Extinguisher Safety presenter Evan Orowetz

Attendees will learn about the role of the fire safety team at CMU, basic home fire safety tips, and how to use a fire extinguisher.

 Slime! presenter Betsy Clark

A favorite activity of all ages, we will make slime (don't worry, we'll take precautions to keep this as fun and mess free as possible)! During this activity, students will learn a little about molecules, polymers and cross-linking. We'll compare the slime we're making to a demonstration of a super stretchy slime.

 Scanning Electron Microscope presenter Neal Lewis

Explore beyond the limits of the human eye with a live demonstration of a scanning electron microscope (SEM)! Children will get to see everyday objects imaged in an SEM while learning a little bit about electrons, how an SEM works, and why this instrument is important in materials science and engineering (and a lot of other applications too!).

CMU Scottish Heritage 

presenter Chris NolinA look at Carnegie Mellon's Scottish roots and the traditions that continue to today. Students will learn a few Scottish Gaelic words, see a traditional Sword Dance video, and perhaps hear some bagpipes, too!

 picoCTF presenter Taylor McCampbell

picoCTF is a gamified cybersecurity education developed at Carnegie Mellon University.

 CMU Campus Police presenter Sargent Mark Villasenor

CMUPD will speak about crime prevention and personal safety. We will discuss situational awareness and the danger of underage drinking.  CMUPD will also have police vehicles, motorcycles and bikes. 

Take our Children to Work Day CMU 2024 

Take Our Children to Work Day Registration Graphic

CMU Staff Council TOCTWD 2024
Save the Date Thursday April 25!

Take Our Child to Work Day, presented by Staff Council will be hosted in person once again this year on Thursday April 25th!  Our theme this year is "Inspire 2 Aspire".

Please be sure to register your child and/or children for this special event.  Deadline for TOCTWD registration is noon Tuesday April 23th.   

Click here to access & complete the TOCTWD 2024 Registation Form 

It's also important to note this year's TOCTWD event requires a guardian to be with their children throughout the entire event.  

We are still looking for VOLUNTEERs that already have their ACT 153 clearances.  If you're interested and have any questions, please email  toctwd@andrew.cmu.edu 

CMU will be hosting the annual Take Our Children to Work Day 2024.  Presentations are planned for Thursday, April 25th afternoon & appropriate for children ages 8-11 or 12-15.

Once registered, you will receive an updated schedule closer to the event. Please note that lunch will not be provided this year, so please plan accordingly.  Check out on campus dining locations. Looking forward to seeing you & your child/children after noon on Thursday April 25!

 

Why Take our 'Children' To Work?

Based on feedback from the campus community, our committee has updated the name of this event to "Take Our Children To Work Day."  You can find more information about this change in the About CMU's Event page.

TOCTWD Recognition & Transition

SC Update from April 2023 

For many years, CMU Staff Council has organized and run the Take Our Children To Work Day (TOCTWD). Over the years it has grown into a highly coordinated event extending across campus and introducing children of faculty, staff, and administrators to many aspects of the University. It can be important to pre-college and recruitment efforts and has been welcoming the children of the CMU community for many years. The program started at CMU in 1993, and has overcome many challenges over that time to become a truly remarkable event that far exceeds the typical experience for participants in the national program. 

Pattye Stragar became involved with the program early in her career at CMU and has been leading the event for many years. Last year, Pattye stepped away from Staff Council and from leading the event, and her vision and commitment are, quite literally, irreplaceable. Staff Council is committed to continuing to support and contribute to a campus-wide TOCTWD event. That said, we simply cannot match Pattye’s experience and efforts. There are numerous complexities and challenges surrounding privacy, safety, and inclusivity that we are working through. Similar to many conversations about how CMU moves forward through changes over the past few years, these challenges are leading us to reimagine the future of TOCTWD. Our ultimate goal is to transition leadership for the TOCTW day to a broader and more inclusive campus team so everyone has a seat at the table.

This year’s Take Our Children To Work Day event will reflect this transition. We will be reducing the scale and reach of the event significantly this year, while looking forward to expanding programming in the future as part of the broader leadership effort. Staff Council's TOCTWD committee respectfully asks for your understanding as we work through this transition. We hope that the community’s interest in the TOCTWD experience will lead to future involvement in the planning, coordination, and participation of future events. Please consider vocalizing your support for a broader community-wide leadership team and joining to help create the event we would all like to see return to CMU in the future!