Discover Engineering Family Day, Washington DC

Learn how engineering is involved in everyday life through fun activities. National Building Museum, Washington DC. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Ages 1-12. Free. 

Discover Engineering Family Day

Become an engineer for a day

February 16, 2013   10 am - 4:30 pm

Every February, the National Building Museum and the National Engineers Week Foundation invite you to debunk the myths of engineering and discover how professional engineers turn an idea into reality. Celebrate National Engineers Week by participating in this free, hands-on, and fun-filled festival.

Discover Engineering Family Day is a FREE, drop-in program. $5 donation suggested. Program and activities are most appropriate for children ages 4 to 12 with adult supervision. Registration is not required. 

At Discover Engineering Family Day visitors can:

• FLY Become a rocket scientist and explore aerodynamics
• BUILD Learn to build a suspension bridge using only basic items
• EXPLORE Discover the concepts of mechanics and motion using a wind tube
• MAKE slime and learn the properties of a "semisolid"
• DESIGN and construct a structure to help protect from a tsunami
• INVENT a pop-fly lever and see how high it launches a ping pong ball 
• MEET an astronaut
• DISCOVER alongside Curious George and Cat in the Hat from WETA and PBSKids

A boy explores robotics at the annual Discover Engineering Family Day.

Photo by F.T. Eyre

Scouts

Activities at the Festival may assist Scouts in fulfilling some requirements for the following Badges:

• Tiger Cub Scouts: Make a Model
• Wolf Cub Scouts: Family Fun, Spare-Time Fun, and Machine Power
• Bear Cub Scouts: Family Fun, Build-a-Model, and Aircraft
• WEBELOS: Craftsman, Engineer, and Scientist
• Boy Scouts: Engineering
• Brownie Girl Scouts: Building Art, Science in Action, Listening to the Past
• Junior Girl Scouts: Aerospace, Science Discovery, Discovering Technology, Sky Search, Careers

Scout groups are encouraged to RSVP for this event to receive a badge worksheet in advance.

Visit the Discover Engineering Family Day website to learn more about the festival. 

Sponsors

Major support for Discover Engineering Family Day 2013 is provided by the National Engineers Week Foundation, Booz Allen Hamilton, IEEE-USA, National Council of Examiners for Engineering & Surveying, and Northrop Grumman Foundation. Additional support is provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Bechtel, the National Science Foundation, and the Semiconductor Industry Association. Local support is provided by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics-National Capital Section; ASHRAE National Capital Chapter; and National Nanotechnology Initiative. FAMILY Magazine is the official media sponsor.