This week – National Engineers Week (February 20-26) – is a week for celebrating the profession of engineering. It’s a perfect opportunity for educators to foster interest in engineering careers for their students. For students, it’s a perfect time to start exploring our list of popular engineering, computing, and technology careers to find the best career path for you.
This year’s theme, “Reimagining the Possible,” focuses on how engineers create “new possibilities all the time.”
“This year our theme is Reimagining the Possible! Engineers create new possibilities all the time,” states DiscoverE. “From green buildings to fuel-efficient cars to life-saving vaccines, engineers work together to develop new technologies, products and opportunities that change how we live. Let’s inspire the next generation by celebrating all the ways engineers turn dreams into reality by reimagining what seems impossible to become the Possible!”
How Did National Engineers Week Start?
National Engineers Week was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. That this celebration takes place the week of February 22 — U.S. President George Washington’s birthday — is no coincidence. Washington may be best known as the country’s first president, but he was also one of its first engineers. During the French and Indian Wars, Washington worked as a surveyor who made maps and surveys. He also invented the “drill plow,” a plow with a rotating barrel that distributed seeds, which made farming faster and more efficient.
Celebrate National Engineers Week with NASA’s BEST Program
A great way to celebrate National Engineering Week with students is to participate in NASA’s Beginning Engineering, Science and Technology program (BEST). According to the agency, the program takes students through steps modeling how engineers tackle problem-solving, with an emphasis on students’ understanding that “engineers must imagine and plan before they begin to create and test.”
BEST activities are for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, are aligned with national content standards and frameworks, can be used individually or in a set, and are available on the BEST website in different versions for print and digital use. Learn more about the program.
Let IEEE TryEngineering help you add engaging engineering concepts into your curriculum. Our database of resources is peer reviewed, with lesson plans and strategies made by teachers like you.