In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation that established the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day.
Since beginning a campaign in 1970 to set aside one special day recognizing grandparents, Marian McQuade spearheaded the movement that focuses on three main goals:
- To honor grandparents
- To give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children.
- To help children become aware of the strength, information, and guidance older people can offer.
It is the third goal of National Grandparents Day that a radio buff can really take and run with.
Do you remember when a cloud was something you saw floating in the sky and tried to decide if it looked like a dolphin or a motorcycle? Perhaps they caught more of your childhood attention because you were actually outside. Admittedly, today’s youth faces a more complex world full of different challenges than previous generations, but they lack hands-on experience beyond a keyboard. Most people’s grandkids are a wiz with all things internet and computer related, but few can tell you how any of it actually works. By contrast, radio wave reception is a readily explainable concept that can be demonstrated, experimented with, and shared with one’s grandchildren.
Since the line between entertainment and education can be on the thin side, the wisest path is to find a way to combine the two. Most grandparents don’t even attempt to achieve “cool” status since they learned long ago through their own children what a no-win game that is, not to mention expensive. But without the day-to-day stresses of the parent/child relationship infringing on your time together, the passion that grandparents show for the world of radio can then spur excitement for further discovery. Your grandchildren need you to pass along this important information. One day the cloud may rain torrents of megabytes, and then where will they be?
Crane has a free library on our web site that may prove helpful: http://www.ccrane.com/University?by=University
These links help explain AM reception facts:
http://www.ccrane.com/University/am-reception-1
http://www.ccrane.com/University/Sky-Wave-Radio
This link is great for those looking to share a hands-on experiment:
http://www.ccrane.com/University/How-To-Make-a-Simple-Powerful-AM-Loop-Antenna-For-Free
This year the holiday falls on Sunday, September 11th. To find out more about the history of Grandparents Day, visit http://www.grandparents-day.com/.
We’d love to hear about the favorite thing you’ve taught your grandchildren or learned from your grandparents! Tell us in the comments below.
C. Crane Blog 