Department of Energy Goes Nuclear with New Comic Book

What does dodgeball have to do with nuclear power?

You can find out in a new comic book released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that’s geared toward young readers.

The Spark Squad Nuclear comic book follows middle schoolers Jasmine, Aria and Thomas on their quest to collect enough “joules” to qualify for the regional power fair.

The students quickly find out just how “energy dense” uranium fuel is after meeting Aria’s old friend Dakota at a nearby coal facility, which was recently converted to a nuclear power plant.

Dakota then asks for the Spark Squad’s help to initiate a chain reaction by getting enough uranium particles to play dodgeball with “neutron balls” to split apart other Uranium-235 atoms.

This epic game of dodgeball results in a sustained nuclear reaction AND more than enough joules for the students to qualify for regionals!

The Spark Squad also gains a better understanding of just how a nuclear power plant works that's featured in this video below. 

Spark-ing Interest in Nuclear Energy 

The Spark Squad comic book and video were created by DOE to make nuclear power more accessible to younger audiences.  

We developed a special activity called “Dodgeball Fission” and also worked with our national labs to create a STEM toolkit for the comic book to help engage learners of all ages. It can be used both in-school and out-of-school with standards-aligned, ready-to-use activities for educators.

You can find the STEM toolkit here.

Nuclear and STEM 

The United States operates the largest fleet of reactors in the world with 94 units located at 54 sites across the country. 

And, if you don’t live near one of these plants, then you might not know just how good of a neighbor nuclear can be. 

These plants support thousands of high-paying jobs with salaries that are typically 30 percent higher than the local average. 

Nuclear plants also contribute millions of dollars each year to their communities through federal and state taxes that are used to improve local infrastructure projects and schools.

DOE estimates our nuclear capacity could triple by 2050 to help meet our rising energy demand with clean power. 

That means hundreds of thousands of new jobs could be created in the sector as current nuclear plants work to extend their operations and new plants come online. 

To help cultivate this future workforce, it’s important to engage youth at an early age with activities like this comic book and the accompanying activities to spark their interest in future STEM careers. 

You can also check out earlier Spark Squad comic books as the team explores hydropower.

The Spark Squad comic books were produced through a collaborative effort between the Office of Nuclear Energy, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Chromosphere Studio.

 To explore more STEM activities related to nuclear power, check out our Navigating Nuclear Curriculum or visit our full suite of DOE STEM resources.