I’ve been to a few “Take Your Child to Work” days at Google, but this year, the Keyword team asked me to write about it. I’m going to tell you about Google NYC from the perspective of a nine-year old, fourth grade kid. I like going to “Take Your Child to Work” day because everyone is so friendly and they always have really interesting things that kids like to do, such as meditation, science, coding, and more.
My mom and me!
First, let me tell you about the micro kitchens where you can get a snack, a drink, or do some work. Free snacks are definitely a woop woop! The food is kid-friendly: in one micro kitchen there was frozen yogurt. It also had gummies, fruit and nut bars, yogurt, fruit salad, and even candy, but it’s hard to find because it’s in jars that are high up on a shelf.
A great part of “Take your Child to Work Day” are the sessions we are invited to, and I went to three. The first was about how we see color, and some kids got to try on crazy goggles that turned their vision upside down, switched it left and right, let them see like a bug sees, and there was even one set of goggles that showed the view from above through a camera on her back! The kids tried giving each other high fives and passing a ball around while wearing the goggles, and it was pretty funny.
I also did a class where we tried out AR (Augmented Reality) in the Chelsea Market building. We saw dinosaurs, volcanoes and tornadoes and things inside your body like bones using phones on selfie sticks. After that my mom and I explored the Google offices in Chelsea Market and I climbed the rock wall.
In the afternoon we went to a music meditation class. The instructor taught the six people in class how to meditate with sound and music. At the end we all put a big Tibetan singing bowl on our heads and the instructor banged it lightly with a stick. It felt relaxing as the vibration went through my body. We all had a chance to play the instructor’s musical instruments.
I also got to sit where my mom works every day and meet the people she works with. I did a photo tour with her co-worker Camille, and we took photos of all the cool things we walked by. On the 14th floor Camille and I met a father and son playing foosball. Probably two out of every ten people bring their dogs to work, which most kids like a lot. I saw a little Harry Potter section that had a Hogwarts puzzle, a wizard hat, and a few Harry Potter pillows that looked like spell books, and owls. I have never read Harry Potter, I know such a crime! A fourth grader who has not read Harry Potter! But I still liked seeing it at Google.
I heard that “Take Your Child to Work Day” in Mountain View was pretty cool, too. A few kids were interviewed on camera about what it was like, and here’s what they had to say:
I really like how friendly everyone is at Google, they are all so kind. I’m not sure what I want to do when I grow up, but I know I would like to work at a place like Google.
