"You'll have some fun at the hamfest, it will just take some preparation. The object is to have some hands-on activities that will draw the kids in. " -- Mark Spencer WA8SME
 

A scavenger hunt. Give the kids a map of the U.S. with the call districts. Have them go around the hamfest and find a ham call from each of the call districts. And/or have a list of ham radio questions that the kids have to ask the participants, i.e., what is your class of license?, when were you first licensed?, what band do you work the most? That kind of thing. Then there are some small prizes for returning the questionnaires.
 

On the air. Have a two meter radio on a simplex frequency and someone on the other end monitoring (that is good at talking with kids). Have the kids make a contact and then give them a certificate for making their first contact along with a QSL card.
 

Morse code. Set up a computer with a CPO and key attached to the sound card. Have a code interpreter program running on the computer like CWGet (a free program). The program displays the code as it is being sent.  It doesn’t take long for the kids to send their names and short messages.  Another good addition would be to have a receiver running and having actually CW being heard to show the kids that it is actually still used today (and you could copy the code on a white board as people walk by, gives you a chance to talk about the code within the code (WX, QSL, etc.)). Ask the kids to practice sending their names in code displaying their names on the computer screen. You'll have to chase away the adults on this one.

 

Morse code bracelets. Set up a craft area where you use different sized, or color, beads (for dots, dashes, spaces) and have the kids make a name bracelet in Morse code.
 

Fox hunting. You can set up a fox hunting activity with a hidden transmitter someplace in the area and have the kids in teams try and find the transmitter.
 

Building activity. You can get some paint stirrers from the local hardware store, some buzzers, and batteries and have the kids make their own CPO. Here’s a picture of the key that they can make. Connect the wires to the sticky foil and you have a good CPO. Have the kids send messages to each other using their CPOs.   

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The Adventures of Zack and Max takes kids on a journey with HF amateur radio in this popular comic book. Visit the site to request copies, or even download and print them yourself.

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Pete Kemp KZ1Z , retired teacher and recipient of the Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award, offers some great advice on setting your expectations and getting organized to work with a school classroom and youth groups. Read More

Prime kids for a CW contest with text!
 

But first they'll need to learn Morse code.  Here are some hands-on activities that can engage kids of all ages and introduce them to one of the cool tools long-enjoyed by hams.
 
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