Happy National Engineering Month! Celebrated since 1992, National Engineering Month this year is dedicated to lifelong learning. Join us in celebating National Engineering Month by thinking like an engineer!
What is engineering?
Engineering is using what we know about science to design and build machines, structures and a whole range of things we need and use! Someone who works in engineering is called an engineer.
But engineering is more than just building and using formulas. National Engineering Month says engineering careers are “collaborative, creative and leverage communication skills to solve humanity’s wicked problems; turning ideas into a reality and making a difference.”
Engineering in your life!
Look around you and find three things that needed engineering! How can you tell if something was engineered? Well, engineers usually follow a process just like this:
Engineers solve problems! Does this object, machine or structure solve a problem that we used to have? Did it likely need a lot of testing before everyone started using it? Share with us what three things you’ve found and tag us @sci_rendezvous on social media! If you need any help, use our activity sheet below:
One thing you might notice about this cycle is that it looks like a never-ending circle. This is because engineers work to make things better, even after they’ve come up with a good solution! Think about how things people have used for decades have changed over the years.
Now, is there a problem or challenge that you face daily? Try your hand at being an engineer by following this process to create a solution! We’d love to see what you come up with!
Working as an engineer
Because engineering can involve so many different objects, machines and structures, engineers usually specialize in one type of engineering. There are so many different types of engineering, we don’t know how they choose! Here is just a short list of the main types of engineering.
- Chemical engineering: Using physics, chemistry, biology and engineering to produce various different chemicals on a large scale
- Civil engineering: designing and building public and private buildings, such as airports, roads, bridges, tunnels and dams. Within civil engineering, there are also different types of civil engineering, like environmental engineering.
- Electrical engineering: designing, studying and producing electrical and electronic systems, such as computers, control systems, and electronic circuits.
- Mechanical engineering: designing and producing physical and mechanical systems such as power and energy systems, transportation systems, engines, robotics, and turbines.
- Aerospace engineering: designing and creating aircrafts, satellites, rockets, and helicopters.
- Marine engineering: designing and creating anything on or near the ocean, such as ships, watercraft propulsion, and harbors. It combines mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, as well as some coding!
- Computer engineering: combining computer science and electronic engineering, this branch develops computer hardware and software.
Want to learn more about engineering? Join in any of the 70 FREE events that National Engineering Month is hosting. You can find some of their listing on our very own Virtual Events Calendar!
Happy engineering!
