February 2005, Issue #37
Engineers Week, a formal coalition of more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and government agencies, was founded in the United States in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Dedicated to raising public awareness of engineers' positive contributions to quality of life, Engineers Week promotes recognition among parents, teachers and students of the importance of a technical education and a high level of math, science, and technology literacy, and motivates youth to pursue engineering careers in order to provide a diverse and vigorous engineering workforce. Each year Engineers Week reaches thousands of schools, businesses, and community groups across the United States.
Engineers Week 2005 (February 20-26) is co-chaired by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and BP p.l.c. This year's U.S. theme is Engineers: Turning Ideas Into Reality. This year's Global theme is Engineers Make a World of Difference.
Through Engineers Week 2005; ASME, BP and Engineers Week volunteers hope to reach more than the 5 ½ million kids they reached in 2004 and are working towards making all of their information global. The majority of the programs that are currently on the National Engineers Week website are in Spanish and English.
During the seven days of Engineers Week 2005, there are three major activities taking place. The first is the ZOOM™ Into Engineering Family Festival at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. on the 19th of February from 10am to 4pm. The ZOOM™ Into Engineering Family Festival is a day for families to meet cast members of the PBS series ZOOM™ and to work hands-on with engineers to solve engineering challenges and learn about engineering. ZOOM™ Into Engineering has grown from the DiscoverE program (a program that puts engineers into classrooms and extracurricular activities) and the PBS series ZOOM™. Since many of you are not in the D.C. area, consider using some of these hands-on activities to bring engineering into your classroom.
This year National Engineers Week is sponsoring the 13th Annual National Engineers Week Future City Competition™. This competition is a semester-long educational program for seventh and eighth grade students to work with teachers and volunteer engineers to build computer and three-dimensional scale models of future cities. The finals for the competition are held on February 23rd between 8:30am and noon at the Crystal City Hyatt. The first place team (1 teacher, 3 students, and 1 volunteer engineer) will receive a trip to U.S. Space Camp™ in Huntsville, Alabama (sponsored by Bentley Systems, Inc.). The second place team will receive a $2,000 scholarship for their school's technology program (Sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers). The third place team will receive a $1,000 scholarship for their school's technology curriculum (Sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers).
February 24th marks the fifth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. This day is set aside for women engineers to mentor girls and young women between grades Kindergarten through 12th. The goal of Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is to help girls and young women find an interest in the subjects and the fields of study that could lead them to becoming an engineer.
In addition to these three major events, Engineers Week consists of other programs and events that celebrate engineering and work to make engineering a more popular career. Such programs include:
Engineers Without Borders™—USA
A program led by ASME for 2005 in which college students work with practicing engineers to design and implement sustainable solutions for developing communities
Connecting the World to Engineering
An online program of forums and live teleconferences that connect engineering undergraduates and engineering professionals with business leaders in the engineering community. This program helps the undergraduate engineers determine that their choice of engineering as a career is what they want to do.
New Faces of Engineering
A recognition of engineers that have been in the field for five or less years and have shown outstanding abilities in projects that impact public welfare or further professional development and growth. The purpose of the program is to continue to inspire future generations of engineers.
Local Activities Forum
Check out what is going on to celebrate Engineers Week in your area.
Discover Engineering Online
A new site designed just for you and your students to open the world of engineering.
Sightseers Guide to Engineering
Do you realize that nearly everything around you that makes your life easier and more fun, nearly everything that makes our economy go, has been created by an engineer? So when you take a trip—either around your neck of the woods or around the country—you'll find countless sights that help tell the engineering story.
During National Engineers Week, we hope that you will take the opportunity to open your classroom to an engineer from your community. If an engineer hasn't already contacted you, look in your phonebook for local engineering societies, businesses and colleges or check our State Contacts section to see if an engineer has already volunteered to help in your area. Your students will not only learn something new, but will have fun discovering how engineers turn ideas into reality.
