At play in the fields of the mind

His work, a colleague said, encourages people to touch, explore, think and imagine. He brought a toy to his job interview.

“A work in progress,” Gordon McDonough called the toy, the kind of progress that seldom rests because the concept is about play, which is interactive and implies that something is in motion.

One of his “toys,” that he keeps on his desk is a Rube Goldberg contraption, which uses the force of gravity to draw a metal sphere down a roller coaster of wire tracks to a place where it obligingly trips the release of the next ball. Along the way, it flips a mechanical switch so that the next ball amusingly takes another route.

McDonough has about five of these kinds of projects at any given moment, gestating on a table at home in Santa Fe.

“Maybe three have any potential of being finished in the next six months,” he said.”

Given his background, experience as a father with two daughters, a science teacher and maker of interactive learning stations, there is little wonder that McDonough got the job as one of the Bradbury Science Museum’s educational and outreach educators.

For about three years he has been teaching youngsters from inside out, as part of the Museum on Wheels program that goes out to regional schools and from inside in as a tour guide for visiting students.

If you subscribe to the newspaper, you receive FREE access to all the exclusive content of the web site! Simply register to receive uninterrupted access to our award-winning and in-depth local online content!

Renew Current or Past Subscription / Register for Online Subscription

If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Los Alamos Monitor, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.

Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.

Newspaper Acct. ID:
Street Address:	(exactly as it appears on the label)

If you are a subscriber and you do not know your account ID or don't have a copy of your newspaper available that shows the information on the address label you can click continue below to search for your account.

New Subscription/30 Day Free Trial Account

If you are new to the award winning Los Alamos Monitor and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.

ZIP Code:

Create a limited access account.
Register to participate in community forums, post on the community calendar, blog etc. This registration does not give you full access to read our award winning content, etc.

The Los Alamos Monitor | lacirculation@lamonitor.com | 505-662-4185
256 DP Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544
Office Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday