
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 7, 1994                    TAG: 9406070049 
SECTION: DAILY BREAK                     PAGE: B4    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Sherrie Boyer 
DATELINE: 940607                                 LENGTH: Medium

OLDER KIDS WILL APPRECIATE TOUR OF NAVY SHIPS

{LEAD} WE TACKLED the guided-missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts this weekend, or rather, it tackled us. It was just thrilling for Tom and me. But to 3-year-old Maddie and 20-month-old Sam, the ship was a huge, interesting place where they weren't allowed to touch anything or run. Think of a ship as being totally non-childproof.

The tour includes fairly cool stuff, like sonar, a combat room, torpedo tubes, missile launchers and other weapons. The command rooms are crowded, dark spaces lit by millions of little red lights, all coming from the buttons and knobs the crew push and pull while doing their jobs. Tours last about 20 minutes.

{REST} We learned later that to enjoy the tour, children should be 8 years old, although children as young as 5 will grasp some of the experience.

Age isn't a rule, just a suggestion, since we saw several families toting young children. But tote is the operative word. Add waiting lines in cramped passageways, long drops to deep water and DANGER in red letters seemingly everywhere, and you understand.

With older kids, you could listen to the tour guide and then patiently translate the information into something they can digest. We had fleeting moments of this with 5-year-old Allio. The Navy man in dress whites would introduce the missiles, then Tom would draw a connection between the Navy and Saturday morning cartoons.

``If the bad guys came, these guys could shoot them out of the sky with these missiles,'' he says gesturing toward the long, imposing gun. Allio nods. ``It's sort of like if Shredder (of ``Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') came; they could blow him up.''

This worked for Allio. But Maddie just wanted to open all of the little latches sealing the cargo doors we'd pass. She found the only miniscule spot of oil on this incredibly immaculate ship, wiped it with her finger and tried to give it a taste before we nabbed her.

Sam's only moments of joy were racing toward the water and grabbing for a switch labeled ``red alert.''

All three liked looking through the binoculars by the control room. The girls were amazed that the ship could be steered with a tiny wheel, about the size of a youth's palm - instead of a big captain's wheel - and everyone liked climbing up and down the steep steel ladders and up and over the doorway frames.

\ To join a tour, you need a valid driver's license and vehicle registration to receive a visitor's pass, which allows you to drive on the Norfolk Naval Base.

Passes are available at the Naval Base Pass office, 9809 Hampton Blvd., directly across from Gate 5. Tours are offered several times an hour, between 1 and 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, and are for a different ship each weekend. Call ahead (444-7955) to find out if it's a destroyer or carrier or sub.

Once you get your pass (no drive through; park behind the building and walk in), head north another block on Hampton Boulevard to Gate 2. The guard will point you toward the pier (the number will be written on your visitor's pass). Park across from the pier and walk up the gangplank to the ship. When a group has gathered and a guide is available, your tour will begin. Do not take a stroller. The tours include several ladder-type stairs; a back carrier may be difficult to use as well.

Afterward, drive past all of the piers before you leave. It's fascinating to see the lineup of huge ships. Tom and I were amazed at the bulk of the carrier Theodore Roosevelt, although the children, by that time, just wanted cold juice.

by CNB