Not
only are engineers still sought after in a world with too many
lawyers and teachers, but engineering is an exciting and rewarding
field that involves creativity and teamwork (rather than the concept
of an engineer who spends most of his or her time in solitary
tinkering and number-crunching).
But
most kids in the U.S., especially most girls, say that they're not
interested in going into engineering. It's boring, or it's hard, they
explain.
Do
they even know what engineering is?
Do they know what engineers do?
There
are so many different types of engineering! Some engineers build
bridges and work to protect the environment. Some are astronauts and
others build things that astronauts use, such as zero-gravity toilets
and rocket engines and spacecraft. Some engineers create new computer
hardware and applications, some develop new materials to use in
makeup or medicines, and some create robots or roller coasters.
Or how
would you like to work in biosystems engineering, creating new
sources of bioenergy or inventing ways to prevent the spread of
infectious diseases?
Engineering
is many, many different things...but it's not boring.
Is
it hard? Well, becoming an engineer will certainly take some effort,
but almost everybody is smart enough to learn the necessary stuff to
have an exciting engineering career!
Let's
do this!
- Here is a motivating video about Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.
- Here is a website with resources and experiments to help kids explore engineering.
- Science Kids has a page called Engineering for Kids.
By
the way...
This
year's Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is dedicated to the memory
of Dr. Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut in space.
After her career at NASA, Ride worked on programs to introduce
kids—with a special focus on girls—to science.
Also on this date:
Anniversary of the first woman to receive a doctorate in dentistry
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