Without engineers, that bridge wouldn't hold weight, those boats wouldn't float, and those buildings wouldn't stay up!
This week, sixth-graders worked on designing bridges, building them, and testing them to see how much weight they could hold. Their work combined scientific methods, creativity, and practical problem-solving. It was a nice introduction into a type of science that many people don't think of or appreciate enough-- engineering.
What does an engineer do? Basically, engineers design and build things that make our lives easier and safer. An engineer is an inventor, a mathematician, and an artist rolled into one career. Some people say that engineers are not really scientists, because a scientist's job is to figure out how the world works, while an engineer's job is to create brand new things for the world. However, I would argue that to be a good engineer, you need to think like a scientist, because scientific thought is all about asking questions and solving problems.
You probably don't spend much time thinking about engineering. Maybe you've never even heard the word before. But if you look around you, almost everything in our world was created by an engineer! Look at it this way-- if nature didn't make it, an engineer did. An engineer designed your apartment building to be strong and sturdy even in terrible weather. An engineer designed the desks you use at school, to make sure they are the right height for you. A chemical engineer made the shampoo you used to wash your hair. Check the label of your shirt-- is it made from a man-made fabric like polyester or acrylic? Those were created by chemical engineers, too. The planes in the sky were made by aerospace engineers, the CTA trains were designed by mechanical engineers, and our electricity is able to travel from the power plant into our homes because of systems designed by electrical engineers. The fact that the highway doesn't crumble under our weight when thousands of cars go over it every day can be attributed to civil engineers, who also design things like bridges and roads.
To learn more about engineering, visit the Discover Engineering site. Be sure to click on "What's Engineering?" to learn more about what it's like to be an engineer as a job. The show Design Squad challenges kids to work in teams as engineers to solve challenges, and you can watch an episode or two here. If you want to improve your engineering skills at home, the PBS show ZOOM has some great design activities you can try out. For information that is more detailed but not as kid-friendly, visit the National Engineers Week Foundation.