Nearly 80 Kids to Get 'Inside' Look at PennDOT Operations

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 80 children will accompany their parents or guardians to work at PennDOT on Thursday, April 26, for "Take your Child to Work Day."

"This day will allow future transportation partners to get a firsthand look at some of our day-to-day operations while spending time with their parents," PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch said.

Highlighted activities will include:

• A demonstration of PennDOT's Automated Vehicle Locator System, which the department uses to monitor the movement of its 2,250 trucks;
• A demonstration of the calligraphy and graphic design that PennDOT uses for many of its publications;
• To better understand the dangers of drinking and driving, kids can wear "DUI goggles" and try to walk a straight line;
• PennDOT's Bureau of Aviation will host a model airplane-building workshop;
• Older kids will be able to take an online driver's skills test which helps them get ready for the driver's permit exam.

Following lunch with their parents, children will visit the PennDOT testing lab to see some of the stringent quality tests for PennDOT's highway products. Among the activities will be a demonstration of a "tension compression" machine which will pull a metal bar, commonly used in road construction, in half. The lab visit will also include a tour of PennDOT's light tunnel, where the reflectivity of traffic-line paint and roadway signs is tested. Children will also have the chance to see how glass beads, which are used in line paint, are tested for "roundness."

Participants will spend the rest of their day alongside their parents or guardians to gain a better understanding of what these employees do every day to help deliver quality transportation to Pennsylvania.

"The state's future depends on all of us to set good examples for our kids. By giving these children the chance to see what goes on behind the scenes at PennDOT, we are demonstrating not just the importance of a good transportation system, but also just how significant their parents' roles are in providing the best service to Pennsylvanians," Schoch said.

Media contacts: Steve Chizmar, 717-783-8800

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Transportation