“Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that has never been.”
-Theodore von Karman
Celebrate the many ways engineers make a difference in the world during Engineers Week, February 19–25. This year’s theme is Creating the Future! Sponsored by DiscoverE, this week promotes and encourages educators to share the engineering field with students.
Many free resources and suggestions are available to encourage and participate in Engineers Week. DiscoverE shares several easy ideas for encouraging future engineers throughout the week that include:
- Use social media to share photos of engineers in action, class visits from engineers, and classroom engineering projects. Tag your posts with #Eweek2023 to share and learn from other classrooms.
- Host an Engineers Week event such as a coffee or lunch, invite individuals to be recognized for their engineering accomplishments or invite a speaker to discuss engineering with your students.
- Advocate for the field by asking your mayor or local politician to issue a proclamation that shares the accomplishments of engineers. For example, share this page listing fifteen examples of STEM/Engineering careers. Each example includes an overview of this field, average salary, expected job growth over the next ten years, education requirements, and sample activities.
- Tell a friend about Engineers Week and share ways to celebrate. Ideas for sharing within schools include providing daily announcements about engineering accomplishments and different fields of engineering or highlighting the work of a local engineer.
February 25 is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. Highlighting the role of women in engineering and featuring female role models encourages girls to consider engineering as a future career path. This day is an excellent time to take advantage and share some or all of the sites created to encourage girls and young women to consider a career path in engineering:
- Fab Fems – FabFems encourage and share advice for girls considering STEM careers. Visit the Community Resources section to find an incredible amount of information that includes a digital library of women STEM innovators, essays sharing the accomplishments of Women@NASA, stories about the Women@Energy, FabFems in Computer Science and Engineering, Latina SciGirls, and many more. Many of these resources include information for educators and lesson plans.
- Engineer Girl – Discover and learn about engineering through a female perspective. Follow links to learn about what engineers do, ask a question, or try one of several engineering design challenges. The design challenges are perfect for classroom activities to try during Engineers Week, don’t forget to share your photos and student reflections on social media using #Eweek2023!
- SheHeroes – SheHeroes is another well-rounded site offering many resources to encourage girls to consider careers in STEM. Download the free curriculum, which includes four units – The Creators, The Observers, The Explorers, and The Analysts. Each unit shares essential questions, exploration activities, STEM career exploration, and an opportunity to learn about a female role model in the field. Another portion of SheHeroes includes profiles with video interviews with women in STEM Careers.
In addition to the resources shared to encourage girls in engineering, these additional resources provide excellent starting points for featuring Engineering Week and STEM activities in any classroom:
- STEM Resources – browse over 200 reviewed resources with the STEM tag on TeachersFirst. Resources include videos, activities, lessons, and much more.
- Engineering Resources – over 100 TeachersFirst-reviewed engineering resources, including online classes, hands-on activities, and project-based learning activities.
- PictureStem Project – finding activities for younger students can be challenging; PictureStem Project incorporates engineering challenges with literacy to provide instructional units for K-2 classrooms. In addition, each unit includes a literacy connections book list for each STEM-connected activity.
- STEM Resource Finder – over 340 free STEM activities are available at the STEM Resource Finder. Filter your searches by grade level or subject. Then, for a broader perspective, choose the link to the collections that include items with specific learning goals that teach a more comprehensive content perspective.
- Crash Course Engineering YouTube Playlist – introduce students to the many different engineering fields through a series of forty-seven short YouTube videos with engaging discussions by a female engineer. In addition to discussions on the various fields of engineering, videos share how engineers approach problems and a look at the future of engineering.
Engineering Week is an excellent opportunity to introduce the field of engineering to students in several different ways. Include engineering as a career path, highlight opportunities for girls to find fulfilling opportunities, and provide role models to encourage students to learn about the role of engineers in different fields, including medicine, construction, software, and much more.
The many benefits of STEM education are well-documented; this article from Academia Magazine highlights ten advantages of implementing STEM learning. In addition, focusing on specific STEM careers, such as engineering, provides clarity for students to understand how to include skills learned in STEM lessons as part of meaningful and fulfilling careers.
Do you celebrate Engineers Week? We would love to hear about your favorite activities and resources as we all learn together and encourage our students to Create the Future!