Â鶹ÊÓƵ College of Engineering invites children of all ages to a STEM focused experience
On Saturday, April 30, the College of Engineering’s own organization, Student Engineering Council, hosted Discover Engineering in the Science and Technology building. Discover Engineering is a free community event that allows children to receive an up-close STEM experience with industry professionals and engineering students alike.
“This was our first Discover Engineering since 2019 and it was a huge success,” Britney Sumayah, mechanical engineering ’22, raves. “It was great to have local companies back with involvement with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ community and be hands on with local children.”
This event garnered over 200 participants with positive remarks from everyone who attended and volunteered. Discover Engineering hosted several booths from industry and student organizations with activities such as an egg drop challenge, ice cream making station, and other hands-on projects.
“My favorite part of the event was throwing eggs off the balcony! This activity was a great way to showcase how gravity works in a fun way for kids to learn” said Sam Cannon, electrical engineering ’22. “I enjoyed seeing the creativity of the kids as they tried to come up with ways to protect their eggs in the egg drop challenge. I was surprised to see how clever and crafty they got as the supplies ran out.”
As guests arrived, the more excited our volunteers became. The interactions between students and young minds were genuine as they showcased just how exciting and engaging a future in STEM could be.
“The best part of the event for me was seeing the kids’ eyes light up as they understood the science experiments that we had set up for them.” Sumayah said. “It was fun to watch them have little to no understanding of something and see the lightbulb go off once they got it.”
“I thought it was a great way to end my senior year. Hopefully this will inspire future engineers,” Cannon added. “I hope to come back and volunteer again in the future.”
For many, this is the first and last chance that some were able to volunteer as students due to Â鶹ÊÓƵ being unable to host Discover Engineering in person since 2019. However, we hope to see them return as industry specialists in the future.
Discover Engineering could not be made possible without our sponsors, ExxonMobil, Motiva, Total Energies, Chevron Philips, Valero Energy, and INEOS.