Contents:
1. Tune In
2. In Local News
3. Introduce a Girl to Engineering Reports Continue to Arrive

1. Tune In
Be sure to tune-in to Design Squad, the new PBS reality engineering competition series. Click here to check local listings (http://pbskidsgo.org/designsquad) and a whole lot more. Many local public television stations are broadcasting a special sneak peek of Design Squad during Engineers Week and will begin airing the full series after pledge ends in April.

The Design Squad Educator's Guide is now available for use in your outreach efforts. Filled with 10 hands-on engineering challenges for 9- to 12-year-olds, the Educator's Guide has everything you need to send the message that engineering is creative, rewarding, and socially relevant. Order your free Educator's Guide by emailing designsquad_feedback@wgbh.org. (Be sure to include your name, organization, mailing address, phone number.)

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2. In Local News
As part of Engineers Week 2007, the Austin, Texas, Branch, Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), is sponsoring a free interactive event at the Austin Children's Museum. Volunteers will be on-hand to assist children in building bridges and towers, and creating flying hoop gliders, paper helicopters, balloon cars and delta wing flyers. This is the sixth annual event held at the museum during Engineers Week, a national week-long event to highlight the engineering profession. This sixth annual event will be held February 17. Over the years more than 1,000 children have learned about civil engineering.

The Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts, will be offering additional programming throughout Engineers Week to further educate and engage visitors on topics including engineering and technology. With the help of Cahners ComputerPlace Staff, visitors will explore computer science, robots, and artificial intelligence; build their own robot or contraption using Cricket kits; or check out the bridge design software. Through Design Challenges visitors take on the role of engineer and design, construct, and test a prototype. Activities will include creating and testing bobsleds, and building windmills to harness energy. At the Discovery Center's Experiment Station, children eight and under can hone their basic engineering skills while designing, testing and improving creations they build themselves. Additionally, the Museum of Science in cooperation with WGBH is hosting Build Some Fun, an entire day aimed at engaging young visitors in activities surrounding engineering. Taking place on March 10, this event will feature characters and actors from some of WGBH's most popular shows including, Fetch with Ruff Ruffman and Design Squad. Contact is Michael Morrison at mmorrison@mos.org.

On February 21 Rowe Incorporated will host the Flint Chapter of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers' 4th Annual Engineering Career Day for area high school students. Area high school students get an opportunity to hear discussions on various topics including scholarships, education, and various types of engineering careers. They also get an opportunity to take a tour of a consulting engineering firm's office and see how projects are put together from survey through design. Contact Rick A. Freeman, P.E., at RFreeman@roweincorp.com.

Santa Clara (California) University's School of Engineering is hosting a number of events in celebration of Engineers Week. All events are free of charge and open to the public. Events range from Beat the Micromouse and Build a Bridge in 10 minutes to Silly Putty Yourself Silly and Construct a Contraption in 10 minutes to one of the university's biggest student projects ever--SCU's participation in the Solar Decathlon. See more at the eweek local events forum (http://www.eweek.org/site/forums/forums.asp?ForumSection=1) or contact Heidi Williams at hwilliams@scu.edu

The Western Michigan Chapter of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers and ASCE will provide educational opportunities for local elementary school students during the week following Engineers Week. Activities will occur at the Van Andel Museum Center February 26 and 28, and March 2 and 3. Engineers will host an educational table with hands-on activities related to learning about electrical and mechanical energy sources and uses. Contact Tom Byle at 616-242-6981 or tbyle@kentcountyroads.net.

Students at the University of New Haven (Connecticut) have planned four events for their Engineering Olympics. The events are Common Chemical Compounds; Tinfoil Boat with Penny Passengers; Electromagnet Paperclip Pick-up; and Gumdrop and Toothpick Tower.

The Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, Saint Louis (Missouri) University, has scheduled a full week of activities for all engineering students and an open house for local high schools with tours and hands-on projects. Contact is gharabr@slu.edu.

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3. Introduce a Girl to Engineering Reports Continue to Arrive
An engineer plans to share her experiences with at least one girl to show how great engineering can be. The engineer's expertise is in MEMS (Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems) but her background is in chemical engineering. She works with engineers at MicroChips Inc. in Bedford, Massachusetts, and conducts research at MIT. Contact is Gwendolyn Donahue at gdonahue@mchips.comArchitecture Systems & Technologies in Moss Point, Mississippi, is sponsoring the "Gulf Coast Information, Integration, & Interoperability Symposium" and has offered fee registration to two local high school girls to attend the symposium and learn about Open Architectures, Open Source, and Net Centric Data Sharing. Contact is Joy Carter admin@archsystech.com.

Argonne, Illinois, National Laboratory will hold its fifth annual mentoring day for middle school girls. Argonne's Girl Day is an educational and fun one-day event which focuses on introducing girls in 6th through 8th grades to engineering careers through hands-on activities and direct interaction with engineers and scientists, who team up to host up to four students per team during the day. The day includes tours of Argonne facilities, presentations on engineering careers and an engineering challenge from the Society of Automotive Engineers. Here are a few quotes from past Girl Day student surveys:

- I thought the engineering field just involved people with goggles working on machinery, but it was not.
- It opened my eyes to new jobs.
- It was really interesting to find out new things that I didn't know.
- It gives me more interest to look for a career in one of these fields.
- It sounds like so much fun and I want to help make the world a better place.
-  I had always thought of science as a 'boring' subject, but this really altered my view.

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Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, Engineers Week (February 18-24, 2007) 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.

Previous issues of the EWEEK ENEWS available here.

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