Nuclear Science Merit Badge — Complete Digital Resource Guide

Introduction & Overview

Overview

Nuclear science is the study of matter, energy, and tiny particles that are too small to see but powerful enough to light cities, diagnose disease, and help scientists understand how the universe works. This badge asks you to look past movie myths and learn what radiation really is, how atoms behave, and why careful measurements matter. If you like science that connects the invisible world to real life, Nuclear Science is full of moments that make you stop and say, “Wait, really?”

Then and Now

Then

People have always lived in a radioactive world. Long before anyone knew what an atom was, the sun, rocks, soil, and even the human body were quietly producing or interacting with radiation. The big change came in the late 1800s, when scientists such as Henri Becquerel and Marie Curie realized that certain materials gave off energy on their own. Soon after, Ernest Rutherford and other researchers began uncovering the structure of the atom and showing that matter was not solid and simple after all.

Early nuclear science felt mysterious because the tools were simple and the effects were invisible. Researchers used photographic plates, gold leaves, glowing screens, and careful counting to detect particles they could not see directly. Those classic experiments are still important because they show how scientists learned to trust evidence over guesses.

Now

Today, nuclear science touches daily life in ways many people never notice. Doctors use radioactive tracers to look inside the body. Engineers use radiation to inspect welds and materials without cutting them open. Scientists use particle accelerators to study the building blocks of matter. Nuclear reactors produce electricity without burning fuel the way coal or gas plants do.

Modern nuclear science is also built on safety culture. The field depends on measurement, shielding, planning, and clear procedures. That is why this badge spends so much time on radiation basics and dose control before moving into experiments and energy.

Get Ready!

This badge rewards curiosity and careful thinking. You do not need to memorize every term on day one, but you do need to get comfortable asking good questions, drawing what you cannot see, and backing up your ideas with observations. By the end, you should feel more confident talking about radiation without fear or exaggeration.

Kinds of Nuclear Science

Radiation and Health

One part of nuclear science is learning what radiation is, where it comes from, and how it affects people and living things. This includes background radiation, contamination, dose, and medical uses such as imaging and treatment.

Atomic Structure and Isotopes

Another part of the badge is about the structure of matter itself: protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks, and isotopes. These ideas help explain why some atoms are stable while others decay and release radiation.

Particle Physics and Research Tools

Particle accelerators let scientists push particles to high energies and study what happens when they collide or pass through targets. This branch of nuclear science asks some of the biggest questions in physics: What is matter made of? How do forces work? What can we learn from nuclei and nucleons?

Energy and Useful Applications

Nuclear science is not only about reactors. It includes medicine, industry, food science, environmental monitoring, and space exploration. One reason this badge is interesting is that the same basic ideas can help both a doctor in a hospital and a scientist studying cosmic rays.

Ready to start with the most important foundation in the whole badge? Begin with what radiation is, where you meet it in everyday life, and how to think about it clearly.

Req 1 — Understanding Radiation

This requirement covers the ideas that make the rest of the badge possible:

• What radiation is and how it differs from ordinary light, heat, and radio waves
• How to work safely by keeping dose as low as reasonably achievable
• What warning symbols mean and where they belong
• Where radiation comes from in daily life
• How exposure, contamination, and dose differ

If you can explain these five parts clearly, you will sound much more like a scientist and much less like someone repeating movie myths.

Requirement 1a

Radiation is energy moving from one place to another. Sometimes that energy travels as waves, and sometimes it travels as particles. Sunlight is radiation. Heat from a campfire is radiation. So are alpha particles and gamma rays.

The key difference in this badge is whether the radiation has enough energy to knock electrons off atoms. If it does, it is ionizing radiation. If it does not, it is nonionizing radiation.

A good way to remember it is this: nonionizing radiation can still matter, but ionizing radiation can change atoms directly. That is why nuclear science treats ionizing radiation with extra care.

Requirement 1b

ALARA means As Low As Reasonably Achievable. It does not mean “be fearless” and it does not mean “panic about every tiny dose.” It means planning your activity so you receive as little radiation as practical while still doing the job.

The three main ALARA tools are simple:

A strong counselor answer sounds like a plan: “First I would understand the setup. Then I would gather materials, decide where everyone stands, make measurements efficiently, and step back when I am done.”

Requirement 1c

The standard radiation hazard symbol is a trefoil: a center circle with three blades around it. It warns that ionizing radiation may be present and that special controls are needed. The exact colors may vary by setting, but the message is the same: stop, think, and follow trained procedures.

You should expect this symbol on places or items such as:

• doors to X-ray or radioactive materials rooms
• storage containers for licensed radioactive sources
• equipment that generates X-rays or uses radioactive material
• labels, transport containers, and controlled areas where regulations require it

The symbol should not be used as decoration or on things that are not real hazards. Warning labels only work if people trust them.

Requirement 1d

You live in a radiation environment all the time. Some of it comes from space, especially cosmic rays striking Earth from outside the planet. Some comes from Earth itself, because rocks, soil, air, water, and living things contain naturally occurring radioactive atoms.

Examples of everyday exposure include:

• Cosmic radiation from space, especially at high altitude
• Radon gas that seeps from soil into buildings
• Natural radioactivity in rocks and soil
• Tiny amounts of radioactive isotopes in food and in your body

Four good NORM examples a Scout might actually find are bananas, potatoes, Brazil nuts, and granite countertops. These are radioactive because they contain trace amounts of naturally occurring isotopes such as potassium-40, uranium, thorium, or their decay products. The word “radioactive” sounds dramatic, but in everyday materials the amounts are usually very small.

Requirement 1e

Exposure means radiation is passing through or reaching you. Contamination means radioactive material is actually on you, in you, or where it should not be. A person can be exposed without being contaminated, just as you can stand in sunlight without carrying the sun away with you.

The hazards depend on the type of radiation, how much dose is received, how long the exposure lasts, and whether contamination gets inside the body. Large doses can damage cells and tissues. Contamination can spread through air, water, soil, or food webs if it is not contained. Wildlife can be affected for the same reasons people are: radiation can damage living tissue and change how organisms grow, reproduce, or survive.

For your dose comparison, use a trusted calculator and pay attention to units. A useful answer is not just a number. It is a comparison with context, such as whether your annual background dose is lower than, similar to, or higher than an occupational dose limit or a typical worker’s monitored dose.

Now that you know what radiation is and how to think about it safely, the next step is to zoom in and study the atom itself.

Req 2 — Atoms, Isotopes, and Particles

This requirement gives you the vocabulary and models that make the rest of the badge easier to understand. First you learn the parts of matter and the language scientists use. Then you turn those ideas into something you can build and explain with your own hands.

Requirement 2a

A strong explanation connects the terms instead of listing them like flash cards.

An atom is the basic unit of an element. At its center is the nucleus, made of protons and neutrons. Electrons move around the nucleus in the surrounding electron cloud. Protons and neutrons are built from smaller particles called quarks.

An isotope is a version of the same element that has the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Some isotopes are stable. Some are unstable and change over time.

When an unstable nucleus changes and gives off energy or particles, that is radioactivity. A radioactive isotope is a radioisotope.

The main emissions you need to know are:

Ionization happens when enough energy knocks electrons off atoms. Stability describes whether a nucleus tends to stay the same or decay.

Requirement 2b

This is where the badge stops being only words and turns into a model you can point to. Pick an element with several common isotopes so the pattern is easy to see. Hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and chlorine all work well.

How to choose your element

Look for an element where the atomic number stays the same but the mass number can change. The atomic number tells you how many protons the element always has. The mass number is protons plus neutrons. Change the neutrons, and you have a new isotope of the same element.

What your three models should show

A good set of models does not need to be fancy. Colored clay, beads, paper circles, or a digital drawing can all work if the structure is clear.

Showing quarks

In your separate model or diagram, show that:

• a proton is made of two up quarks and one down quark
• a neutron is made of one up quark and two down quarks

You do not need to explain every detail of particle physics. The goal is to show that protons and neutrons are not indivisible. They are made from smaller parts.

Once you are comfortable with atoms and isotopes, you are ready to look at machines that hurl particles at incredible speeds to learn even more.

Req 3a — How Accelerators Work

A particle accelerator is a machine that gives charged particles more and more energy, then guides them where scientists want them to go. Think of it like a super-precise racetrack for tiny particles. Instead of using gasoline, it uses electric fields to speed particles up and magnets to steer and focus them.

At a simple level, an accelerator does four jobs:

Why do scientists bother? Because fast-moving particles reveal information that slower ones cannot. When particles collide, scatter, or trigger detectors, scientists can learn about the structure of nuclei, the forces inside matter, and the properties of particles that are far too small to see directly.

There are different accelerator designs. Linear accelerators send particles down a straight path. Circular accelerators bend them around a loop so they can gain energy again and again. In both cases, the beam must be carefully controlled. If the beam spreads out, hits the wrong target, or loses too much energy, the experiment becomes harder to interpret.

What scientists study with them

In nuclear science, accelerators can:

• probe the inside of nuclei
• create rare isotopes
• study how nucleons behave
• test materials and detectors
• produce beams for medicine or industry

A good explanation for your counselor should connect the machine to the science: particles gain energy, magnets control the beam, detectors collect evidence, and scientists use that evidence to answer questions about matter.

Now you get to choose how you want to explore accelerator science: by talking with people who do the work or by comparing major machines and experiments.

Req 3b — Choose an Accelerator Path

For this requirement, you choose exactly one option. Both paths teach you how accelerator science is used in the real world, but they fit different kinds of Scouts.

Your Options

• Req 3b1 — Visit a Lab or University: Meet or speak with a scientist and learn how real researchers study nuclei or nucleons. This option is great if you like hearing directly from people doing the work.
• Req 3b2 — Compare Major Accelerators: Research three accelerators and the experiments they support. This option is great if you enjoy reading, comparing, and organizing information.

How to Choose

Before you choose, these two official videos can help you picture what large accelerator facilities look like and why scientists use them.

If you want the people-and-places version of this requirement, start with the visit option first.

Req 3b1 — Visit a Lab or University

This option is about learning how real scientists think. Even a short visit can teach you a lot if you arrive ready to listen, observe, and ask questions that go beyond “What do you do here?”

What to look for during your visit

You do not need to understand every machine or equation. Focus on the investigation itself.

Questions worth asking

A good visit usually depends on good questions. Try asking some of these in your own words:

• What are you trying to measure or discover?
• How does your equipment help you study nuclei or nucleons?
• What part of the process is hardest to control?
• How do you know when your data are trustworthy?
• What safety rules matter most in your lab?
• What surprised you when you first started doing this work?

Turning the visit into a clear explanation

Afterward, be ready to summarize the experience in four parts:

1. Where you went or whom you spoke with
2. What they study
3. How they study nuclei or nucleons
4. Why that work matters

That structure keeps your report from turning into a random list of cool details.

If travel is not possible, the research-based option gives you another way to explore the same field.

Req 3b2 — Compare Major Accelerators

This option is less about visiting one place and more about seeing the range of work particle accelerators can do. The best answers compare machines with different purposes instead of picking three versions of the same idea.

A smart way to choose your three accelerators

Try to choose one from each category:

• A giant research accelerator for fundamental physics
• A nuclear science facility focused on nuclei or isotopes
• A medical or applied accelerator used in hospitals or industry

That mix makes it easier to explain both basic science and practical applications.

What to include for each accelerator

Here are example categories you could use in your own research:

How to talk about experiments

When the requirement says to describe experiments, do not stop at the machine name. Explain what the scientists were trying to learn. For example, were they testing how particles scatter, producing rare isotopes, or creating beams for therapy? Then explain the practical side. Did the work improve detectors, help create medical isotopes, or lead to better understanding of matter?

A strong counselor discussion sounds comparative: “This machine studies basic physics questions, while this one is used for isotope production, and this one helps treat cancer patients.” That shows you understand the field, not just three names.

Classic experiments helped scientists discover radiation with very simple tools. Next, you will choose two of those hands-on investigations for yourself.

Req 4 — Pick Two Classic Experiments

You must choose exactly 2 options from this requirement.

Your Options

• Req 4a — Build an Electroscope: Build a simple detector that shows how electric charge behaves and how radiation can discharge it.
• Req 4b — See Tracks in a Cloud Chamber: Watch ionizing radiation leave visible trails in a supersaturated vapor.
• Req 4c — Model Half-Life: Use a hands-on experiment to show how radioactive decay follows a pattern even when individual atoms decay randomly.

How to Choose

Start with the electroscope if you want the simplest classic detector first.

Req 4a — Build an Electroscope

An electroscope is one of the simplest devices for showing that invisible things can produce measurable effects. Charge the metal part of the device, and the leaves or indicator separate because like charges repel. When ionizing radiation affects the air around the electroscope, the air becomes more conductive, and the stored charge leaks away faster.

What the electroscope is showing

The important idea is not just “the leaves move.” The important idea is why they move.

• A charged electroscope stores electric charge.
• The leaves spread apart because they carry similar charges.
• Ionizing radiation creates ions in the surrounding air.
• Those ions help charge move away, so the electroscope discharges.

That means the nearby radiation is not pushing the leaves directly. It is changing the air so the charge can escape.

If you want a more dramatic visual of radiation, the next classic experiment lets you actually see tracks left behind in vapor.

Req 4b — See Tracks in a Cloud Chamber

A working cloud chamber feels like science fiction the first time you see it. Out of nowhere, thin white streaks appear and vanish in the chamber. Those streaks are evidence of ionizing particles moving through vapor and leaving a trail of ions behind them.

What is happening inside the chamber

A cloud chamber contains alcohol vapor cooled until it becomes supersaturated. That means the vapor is ready to condense but needs a trigger. When radiation passes through the chamber, it ionizes atoms along its path. The vapor condenses around those ions, making a tiny visible trail.

Different particles can leave different-looking tracks:

• short, thick tracks may suggest heavier particles
• longer, thinner tracks may suggest lighter or faster particles
• sudden bends or branching can hint at interactions along the way

You do not need to identify every track perfectly. What matters is explaining that radiation leaves behind ionization, and the vapor makes that invisible process visible.

If you want to model radioactive decay with data instead of vapor trails, the next experiment is a great fit.

Req 4c — Model Half-Life

Half-life is one of the most important ideas in nuclear science because it shows how something can be random for each atom but still predictable for a large group. You cannot point to one unstable atom and know exactly when it will decay, but you can predict how a big sample will change over time.

What half-life means

A half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay. After one half-life, about half remain. After two half-lives, about one-fourth remain. After three, about one-eighth remain.

That pattern is why Scouts often model half-life with candies, coins, dice, or other objects. Each round stands in for a time interval. The exact items that “decay” each round change, but the general trend is clear.

How to discuss your experiment

Your counselor will likely want more than a graph. Be ready to explain the pattern.

What a decay chain is

A decay chain happens when one unstable isotope decays into another isotope that is also unstable. That new isotope may decay again, and the process can continue through several steps until a stable isotope is reached.

This matters because radiation hazards and measurements do not always come from just one isotope. Sometimes scientists must think about a whole family of related decay products.

If classic experiments showed how radiation can be detected and modeled, the next requirement shows how to protect people from it.

Req 5 — Choose a Safety Investigation

You must choose exactly one option from this requirement. Each one teaches radiation safety, but from a different angle.

Your Options

• Req 5a — Time, Distance, and Shielding: Use instruments and materials to see how dose rate changes with setup and protection.
• Req 5b — Radon at Home: Study a real household radiation issue that affects indoor air quality and long-term health.
• Req 5c — X-Ray Room Safety: Visit a place that uses X-rays and learn how room design protects workers and patients.

How to Choose

Whichever option you choose, keep using the same safety mindset from Req 1: understand the setup, follow procedures, and think in terms of time, distance, and shielding.

Req 5a — Time, Distance, and Shielding

This requirement puts ALARA into action. Instead of talking about safety in theory, you measure how the setup changes the reading. That makes the three main protection tools feel real.

What counts per minute tells you

A survey meter detects radiation events and reports a reading such as counts per minute (CPM). A higher CPM usually means the detector is receiving more radiation events. If the source moves closer, the reading often rises. If it moves farther away, the reading often falls.

The reason distance matters is simple: radiation spreads out. When the detector is farther away, less of that radiation reaches it.

What shielding shows

Different materials reduce radiation differently because alpha, beta, and gamma radiation do not all interact with matter the same way. A light barrier may stop alpha radiation. Denser or thicker material may be needed for beta or gamma radiation.

When you compare three shielding materials, do not just list the readings. Explain why the differences happened. Was the material denser? Thicker? Better suited to that type of radiation?

If you want to explore a radiation issue that shows up in ordinary buildings, the radon option is next.

Req 5b — Radon at Home

Radon is one of the most important everyday radiation topics because it can build up indoors without any smell, color, or warning sign. That makes testing essential. You cannot judge radon by guessing.

What radon is and why people test for it

Radon is a radioactive gas produced naturally as uranium in soil and rock breaks down. It can seep through foundations and collect inside basements and lower floors. The concern is long-term breathing exposure, especially over many years.

Short-term versus long-term tests

A short-term test is useful when you need a quicker snapshot, often over a few days. It can help screen a building or guide a next step. A long-term test runs much longer and gives a better picture of average conditions over time, because radon levels can change with weather, ventilation, and season.

How to talk through the testing steps

Your counselor will want to hear that you understand the process, not just the name of the test.

Health concerns and mitigation

Breathing radon over time increases the risk of lung damage and lung cancer. The risk is especially serious for smokers, but radon is still a concern for nonsmokers too.

If radon levels are high, mitigation may include improving ventilation, sealing entry points, and installing a radon reduction system that vents gas safely out of the building.

If you want to see how radiation safety is designed into a workplace instead of a home, the X-ray room option is next.

Req 5c — X-Ray Room Safety

This requirement shows that radiation safety is often built into the room before the machine is ever turned on. The layout, barriers, procedures, and operator position all work together.

What your floor plan should show

Your drawing does not need to be artistic. It needs to communicate where people and equipment are during an exposure.

Common safety precautions

In many X-ray rooms, the operator stands behind a protective barrier or outside the room during exposure. The room may use lead-lined walls, lead glass, controlled distances, collimation to limit the beam, and shielding devices when appropriate.

These precautions matter because the operator may work around X-ray equipment every day. Even if each exposure is small, repeated unnecessary exposure is not acceptable. That is another real-world example of ALARA from Req 1b.

You have now explored radiation protection from three different angles. Next, you will choose a path into nuclear energy.

Req 6 — Choose a Nuclear Energy Path

You must choose exactly one option. Both choices lead to the same big idea: nuclear energy becomes electricity by releasing heat, making steam, and turning turbines. The difference is whether you want to focus first on the physics of fission or the operation of a real plant.

Your Options

• Req 6a — Fission and Chain Reactions: Learn the physics behind splitting heavy atoms, critical mass, and reactor control.
• Req 6b — How Plants Make Electricity: Visit or research a plant and study how reactors fit into the larger power grid.

How to Choose

Start with fission if you want to understand the physics first.

Req 6a — Fission and Chain Reactions

Nuclear fission happens when a heavy nucleus, such as uranium-235, absorbs a neutron and becomes unstable enough to split. When it splits, it releases energy, smaller nuclei, and more neutrons. Those neutrons can trigger additional fissions, which is how a chain reaction begins.

What your drawing should show

A clear fission drawing usually includes:

• the original heavy nucleus
• an incoming neutron
• the split into smaller nuclei
• released energy
• extra neutrons that can continue the process

How the mousetrap reactor helps

The mousetrap model is useful because it shows how stored energy can stay quiet until one event triggers many more. One launched ping-pong ball sets off multiple traps, which launch more balls, and the reaction grows quickly. It is not a perfect model, but it is a vivid one.

How a chain reaction is controlled

A reactor is designed so the chain reaction stays controlled instead of racing out of control. Engineers use control rods, moderators, coolant systems, and careful fuel arrangement to manage how many neutrons keep causing new fissions.

What critical mass means

Critical mass means enough fissile material is arranged so that, on average, each fission leads to one more fission and the chain reaction can continue. Too little material, or the wrong geometry, and too many neutrons escape.

If you want to move from the physics of fission to the big system that powers homes and cities, the plant-focused option is next.

Req 6b — How Plants Make Electricity

This option takes you from nuclear physics to a full working energy system. A reactor is only one part of the story. To explain how electricity is made, you have to connect heat, steam, turbines, generators, transmission, and the energy mix around them.

How a plant makes electricity

In simple terms, a nuclear power plant uses fission to make heat. That heat turns water into steam or transfers heat to a steam system. The steam spins a turbine. The turbine turns a generator. The generator sends electricity to the grid.

That means nuclear plants are not magic machines that produce electricity directly from atoms. They are heat engines, just like many other power plants, but the heat source is a nuclear reaction instead of burning fossil fuel.

What to find out during your visit or research

Making the graph

Your graph should help your counselor compare sources quickly. A bar graph is often the easiest choice if you are comparing nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydro, wind, solar, and other sources between your state and the nation.

If your state has little or no nuclear generation, that is still worth discussing. It gives you a chance to explain how geography, policy, existing infrastructure, and local resources affect the energy mix.

The next requirement broadens the picture beyond power plants and shows how nuclear science helps people in many fields.

Req 7 — Nuclear Science in Daily Life

One of the best parts of this badge is realizing how often nuclear science helps people without drawing attention to itself. The field is not only reactors and warning symbols. It also helps doctors diagnose disease, engineers inspect materials, scientists track pollution, and spacecraft reach places where solar power is not enough.

Nuclear medicine

In nuclear medicine, doctors use radioactive tracers that collect in certain organs or tissues so cameras can show how the body is functioning. An example is a scan that helps doctors check blood flow in the heart or the function of the thyroid.

Environmental applications

Scientists can use isotopes to trace where water comes from, track pollution movement, study soil erosion, or learn how nutrients move through ecosystems. Nuclear techniques can reveal patterns that are hard to measure any other way.

Industrial applications

Industry uses radiation to inspect welds, test materials, measure thickness, sterilize equipment, and check whether sealed systems have leaks. One major strength is that radiation can help inspect the inside of something without cutting it open.

Space exploration

Some spacecraft use radioisotope power systems that produce electricity from the heat released by radioactive decay. These systems are valuable when a mission goes too far from the sun for solar panels to work well.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy uses carefully planned beams or radioactive sources to damage cancer cells while limiting harm to healthy tissue. This is one of the clearest examples of using ionizing radiation for a major human benefit.

If these applications sound interesting, the next requirement helps you explore the people behind them and the careers they build.

Req 8 — Explore a Nuclear Science Career

This requirement is your chance to connect the badge to a real person doing real work. Nuclear science careers are broader than many Scouts expect. Some professionals work at reactors or national labs, but others work in hospitals, universities, Navy programs, manufacturing, environmental monitoring, or radiation safety.

Good career areas to explore

Here are a few directions you could take:

• nuclear engineer
• health physicist or radiation safety officer
• medical physicist
• nuclear medicine technologist
• reactor operator
• research scientist
• radiochemist
• materials engineer or non-destructive testing specialist

What to learn about one career

A good discussion is personal as well as factual. It is not enough to say a career pays well or needs a degree. Explain whether you would enjoy the kind of problems that person solves, the settings they work in, and the level of precision or responsibility the job requires.

You have finished the badge requirements. The next page looks beyond them and shows where your curiosity can go next.

Extended Learning

Congratulations

You just worked through a badge that asks you to think at several scales at once: tiny particles, human health, giant machines, and society-wide energy choices. That is part of what makes nuclear science so interesting. The same ideas you used to explain an isotope can also help explain a cancer treatment or a power plant.

Why Background Radiation Matters

One of the best next steps is learning how scientists measure everyday background radiation carefully instead of speaking about it in vague terms. Where does it come from in your area? Does altitude matter? What role does radon play indoors? The more specific your questions become, the less mysterious radiation feels.

How Scientists Build Trust in Measurements

Nuclear science depends on confidence in measurements. Scientists have to calibrate instruments, understand uncertainty, compare readings, and avoid fooling themselves with bad setup or bad assumptions. If you liked the measurement parts of this badge, read more about detectors, calibration, and how evidence is tested before it is trusted.

Nuclear Science and Public Decisions

Few science topics connect to public policy as often as nuclear science. Communities debate medical access, plant licensing, waste storage, national security, and energy planning. A useful next step is learning how to separate evidence-based concerns from exaggeration, because responsible public decisions depend on that skill.

Real-World Experiences

Visit a Science Museum or Reactor Exhibit

Look for exhibits on atomic structure, radioactivity, power generation, or particle physics. A good exhibit can help you connect historical experiments to modern technology.

Tour a University Physics Department

Many universities host outreach events, engineering open houses, or public lectures. Even without a reactor on site, a physics department can show you how people enter the field.

Attend an Energy or STEM Career Event

Career fairs, utility open houses, and STEM expos can help you compare nuclear science with related fields such as chemistry, engineering, or environmental science.

Organizations

American Nuclear Society

International Atomic Energy Agency

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy

Now that you have finished the full guide, the printable companion is ready when you want one page you can review offline or bring to a meeting.