Visiting the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory was very interesting because we got to see the things

we had learned in class and through our blogs in person. The radiation checking for the lab was very serious, which surprised me. Our tour guide even asked us if we had ever taken nuclear medicine and went on to tell us about a lady who had had nuclear medicine and the reactor had sensed it. Our tour guide was very informative and was willing to answer all our questions. We got to see the Geiger counter in action again tested against different objects like we learned in the Tom Vales demo. It was interesting to hear that radiation was used in treatments of cancer such as melanoma. They had tested this on patients and they were helped by the radiation, but it is based on funding which was not readily available. They also had many posters that had much more information on how it was tested on cancer patients.

It was really cool to see the all different machines that were used and connect that with what we had talked about in class such as the fission process. Near the end of the tour, we went into the control room which I thought was interesting because it looked like something out of a movie with the old fashioned buttons and lights. Our tour guide told us that they were trying to go digital with the screens and were testing out new systems for the reactor. It surprised me because the school and the rest of the facility was very technical and modern and the control room looked old-fashioned.

Overall, the tour was very informative. I liked looking at all the machines used in the facility and the precautions taken by the people working there. Our tour guide was very engaging and was able to keep us interested throughout the tour.