From the ARRL Update - What do you do at a science museum? Get your ham license! Three-quarters of the Miller family of LaBelle, Florida, did just that. When the family visited the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, they wandered into the ham radio station there. Everett Hale, KA4IQZ, showed them the equipment and gave them ARRL literature for prospective hams. Bob, the dad, and oldest son Frank started studying and became KD4VTL and AD4RD, respectively. Mom, Janice and son Jim followed suit and got KD4ZIX and KE4PQH, respectively. Recently, the two youngest children got their licenses. Sarah earned KF4HCG and Peter became KF4HCF. They've since encouraged two friends to get licensed, too. Twins Tim and Tom have not yet gotten their tickets, but Janice says they keep trying to encourage them.

As Bob put it, "If you don't want to get interested in ham radio, don't stop at the ham shack in MOSI. But if you do, it might be the beginning of something!" (Bob is now an ARRL volunteer examiner.)

By the way, there's another tale behind how the museum got its ham station. When making a delivery to the museum, Clark Evans, WA4DLL, spotted a car with Amateur Radio plates, and discovered Ed Artest, AD2K, worked at MOSI. The two talked and decided the museum needed a ham station. They asked former Sen Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, to write a letter to the museum, and that, says Clark, "opened the door." Yaesu and local hams donated the needed equipment and antennas for HF, packet, satellite and weatherfax. The MOSI station recently got the call sign, KM0SI, and volunteers now teach licensing classes on site.--Rosalie White, WA1STO