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EWeek 2006 ENews #17 – February 13, 2006
National Engineers Week 2005 will be celebrated February 20-26. Feel free to forward this letter or contents to other interested parties. Contents:1. Nail Clippers, Salad Tongs and Pop-ups: Making Meaning from Mechanisms 1. Nail Clippers, Salad Tongs and Pop-ups:Making Meaning from Mechanisms In this Web Seminar, you'll learn to find levers and linkages in your medicine cabinet, kitchen, office, bookshelf and toolbox. Analyzing these devices will yield insights about levers, linkages, force, motion, mechanical advantage, systems and conservation of energy. You'll develop some design activities and use what you've learned to create your own mechanisms from cardboard. Supplemental resources will come from City Technology. City Technology introduces children across the country to the basics of design technology through curriculum materials, teacher resources, and professional development. 2. Future City Teams Are Inspired to Make Cities Better For example, the team representing Michigan, from St. John's Lutheran School in Rochester, re-imagines Detroit as a safe, functioning, successful city. "I really think it could work," says 14-year-old Jenna Affholter. "A lot of our ideas could help Detroit. I hope somebody will turn them into reality." Students can locate their future cities anywhere in the universe, but the Michigan school chose the state's crumbling major metropolis as its challenge. "Our first mission was to find out what Detroit really needs," says Jenna, who made field trips to the inner city with her teammates and teacher, Jon Pfund, to see firsthand exactly what ails the city. "And what Detroit needs is safety. When you have safety, you have more people, then you have business, then it's a community again." This year's essay focusing on the rehabilitation of an abandoned strip mall, sponsored by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, proved to be an inspirational topic with students across the country, regardless of where they live. "I see parts of downtown Raleigh in need of rehabilitation but I never really thought about it," says Charlie Townsend, 13, whose team from Dillard Drive Middle School in Raleigh represents the North Carolina region. "Now I realize it's a waste of land. We're wasting land with old, broken down buildings that need to be fixed. You can still use that land, all you have to do is update it." Teammate Tommy Pendlebury, also 13, notes that the paradigm of building in a new location is no longer a viable option. "If you move down the road, it doesn't solve the problem," he says. "The abandoned strip mall is still there and the soil is still contaminated and causes water pollution." The National Engineers Week Future City Competition National Finals take place February 21 and 22 in Washington, D.C. 3. In Local News NASA's Kennedy Space Center Education Resources Center, Florida, will host numerous school groups and information groups (i.e. scouts) that have reserved the Exploration Station Room. Engineers will give exciting talks and visitors will enjoy hands-on activities and take home interesting materials. Contact Cheryl.m.johnson@nasa.gov QUALCOMM will host an Engineers Week Public Forum on February 23rd. The event will be held at the Elementary Institute of Science in San Diego, Calafornia. Invitees are from businesses, schools, and industry and trade organizations. The purpose is to address engineering education in the community and issue a call to action. The Quad Cities/Muscatine (Iowa) Section of the Society of Women Engineers will host a "Connecting Educators to Engineering Day" on February 22. The section is working with local junior high schools and engineering organizations to promote interaction between the engineer and educator communities. In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Transportation will pay tribute to its engineers on February 22. Kathryn A Gray, P.E., F.NSPE, President of the National Society of Professional Engineers, will make remarks leading into project updates at DOT and awards for engineers. Holy Toledo! In cooperation with the University of Toledo's College of Engineering, the Toledo Chapter of Ohio Professional Engineers and the Technical Society of Toledo plus many, many company and society sponsors, the local Engineers Week committee will present a very full week of activities including family night at the UT Recreation Center, pop bottle rocket and egg drop contests for high school and college students, Engineer for a Day shadowing, JETS competition for high school teams, and a career expo and company interviews for its students. Additionally the group is working with COSI to support ZOOM Into Engineering Days on February 24 and 25. ----------------------------------------- To submit content or comments, or to be added to our email distribution list, please e-mail eweek@nspe.org. All suggestions will be considered. Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, Engineers Week ( February 19-25, 2006) is celebrated annually by thousands of engineers, engineering students, teachers, and leaders in government and business. In 1988, the National Engineers Week consortium expanded its scope and now includes more than 100 engineering, scientific, and education societies and major corporations dedicated to enhancing the public understanding of the engineering profession and to promoting pre-college interest in math, science, and engineering as a career option. |
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National Engineers Week Foundation
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