TAMPA, Fla. — Veteran AP History teacher Chris Carbon at Plant High School has a secret weapon - inside a locked cabinet.

“This is where I keep all my artifacts that I am allowed to keep at school,” Carbon said. “Some things you are not allowed to be kept at school.”

This day the visual aids came from the days of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 60's.

Holding an open box with a yellow device inside, Carbon pulls out a Geiger counter and shows the class.

“This box would have been given out to people in civil defense stations,” he said. “This is a Geiger counter that the CD (Civil Defense) would have issued.”

A few minutes later he is passing around a large wooden 35 millimeter canon shell.

So why all the objects?

“Objects make it more tactile,” he said. “For someone to be able to feel something from history, to put it in their hands, it makes history come alive not something dead from the past.”

It's a technique that really works for his students, who nominated Carbon for the A+ Teacher Award.

Among the class responses about their teacher:

“He always keeps it interesting, even when it’s not.”

“He always prepares us so well for the exams.”

“He has a way of getting the best from all of us.”

That includes a ton of self-directed learning from students Carbon calls the best of the best.

“These kids give me a lot of hope for the future,” Carbon said.