Did you know that Engineers Week is coming up in February? The purpose of the event, according to the DiscoverE Website, is to:
- Celebrate how engineers make a difference in our world
- Increase public dialogue about the need for engineers
- Bring engineering to life for kids, educators, and parents
How can you participate in Engineers Week? Visit the Idea Starters Page to learn about how you can make an impact.
Lisa’s note: If you are looking for ideas for kid-friendly activities you can share with a classroom, I have found that the Educator Activities on the PBS Building Big site has some fun ideas. A couple of years ago I presented a session similar to “Straw Shapes” for Science Night at a local elementary school, where we used gumdrops and toothpicks to create shapes and test their strength, then allowed the students to build their own structure using 20 toothpicks and 20 gumdrops. We loaded the structures with 1 lb boxes of pasta, and added pasta to see how much each structure could hold without collapsing.