This year, National Engineers Week runs from February 21st through the 27th. The annual celebration focuses on introducing kids to engineering through a variety of activities. Its aim is to raise awareness of what engineering is, what engineers do, and how kids can get active and involved in engineering.

This year, National Engineers Week celebrates is 65th anniversary with the theme ‘Engineers Make a World of Difference.’ Beginning in 1951, when the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) initiated the celebration, the event has become embedded in hundreds of organizations around the world, exposing the general public as well as children to the possibilities of engineering.

Some of the highlights for the week include:

• Global Day: A truly global event, this aims to “celebrate the accomplishments of engineers, give students around the world a chance to experience engineering, and share the amazing innovations engineers create every day.”

• Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day: One of the best programs associated with National Engineers week, this program aims to introduce girls to engineering showing how creative it can be and how engineers can change the world.

• Discover Engineering Family Day: The drawback to this event is that it takes place in Washington D.C., so not everybody can attend (unless you happen to live close to the D.C. metro area.) And it’s only one day. But what a day it promises to be. It takes place at the National Building Museum, with thousands of children learning about engineering through hands-on activities.  

A comprehensive list of events and happenings can be found on the NSPE web site here.

You can track Engineers Week activities by checking the Twitter hashtag #eweek2016.

And speaking of kids and engineering, here’s a recent video of Design World editor Paul Heney’s son Josh tackling a robotics kit from Modern Robotics: