News Release

Educator Concludes 2018 Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Experience

Jeremy McLaughlin

News Release Date: July 16, 2018

Contact: Daniel Banks, 423-569-9778

Contact: Christopher Derman

Jeremy McLaughlin has concluded his Teacher-Ranger-Teacher (TRT) experience at Manhattan Project National Historical Park, in Oak Ridge. A physics and astronomy teacher at Sullivan Central High School, in Blountville, Tennessee, Jeremy worked as Manhattan Project’s Teacher-Ranger-Teacher, where his main focus was to create a new physics-based educational resource for middle school and high school students. He created a new lesson plan, which will allow students gain a better understanding of the different types of radiation, and the importance shielding plays in structures like the X-10 Graphite Reactor. He also created a new off-site educational program that with the help of a cloud chamber will bring an exciting hands-on experience into the classroom. 

As to why Jeremy applied, he said: “I applied to the program because I have a strong interest in science history and felt that my experience would allow me to become a bridge between students in East Tennessee and the amazing history of the Manhattan Project.”

When asked what his experience as a Teacher-Ranger-Teacher was like, he said: “I’ve loved the National Parks since I was a child. I grew up on the door step of Prince William Forest Park in Prince William County, Virginia. Some of my fondest childhood memories were in that park! It has been a dream come true to work for the park service this summer, to help our park rangers build their library of programs that they offer to the public. As a physics teacher, there couldn’t have been a better fit for me than the Manhattan Project NHP. Like every ranger, I’m passionate about helping people understand the physical world around them. There is no better way to learn about a nuclear reactor, than to stand in front of the first one ever built on an industrial scale, and talk about what happened inside. This summer didn’t just satisfy my desire to always learn new things, but to help other people learn about the crowning scientific achievement of the 20th century.” 

The National Park Service’s Teacher-Ranger-Teacher program is a professional development opportunity for K-12 teachers to spend the summer acquiring new skills in experiential learning through a program provided by a partnership between the NPS and the University of Colorado at Denver (CUD). The participants spend between four and six weeks in a national park developing a major educational project and participating in an online graduate course from CUD. The goal of the program is to train teachers in the resources and themes of the NPS so that they can return to their schools in the fall and incorporate their new skills into their classrooms.