On 23 Nov. 2009, President Obama
announced the "Educate to
Innovate" campaign, a nationwide effort
to help reach the goal of moving
American students from the middle to the
top of the pack in science and math
achievement over the next decade.
IEEE-USA joined nearly 200 other
science, engineering, and education
groups in a
letter to the President
pledging our support. The webpage
highlights IEEE-USA's commitment and
response.
Featured Events and Activities
Braving a winter blizzard, a handful of hearty
IEEE members participated in
IEEE-USA's 5th Annual
Careers Fly-In (8-9 Feb.) to visit Capitol
Hill to explain why we, as a country, need to do
a better job teaching our children math, science
and engineering. Part of the outreach will
include messages of support for The Engineering
Education for the Innovation Economy Act of 2010
(the “E2 Education Act”), a groundbreaking bill
that would provide federal incentives to
encourage states to add engineering content to
their K-12 science and math curriculums.
National Engineers Week
(E-Week) (14-20 Feb.)
is a week-long celebration of
all-things engineering, which features the
Discover-Eprogram, a year-long
educational outreach program for engineer
volunteers to communicate how "Engineers
Make a World of Difference." A handy
toolkit is available, which includes
suggestions for outreach opportunities, graphics
to include on your websites or in print
announcements, postcards, and posters; and much
more. An estimated 45,000 engineers work
with five and a half million students and
teachers in elementary through secondary school
each year through classroom visits and
extracurricular programs, using educational
materials provided by E-Week.
Volunteer to help a local middle school
participating in the E-Week Future City
Competition™. Or, you can help sponsor a
prize or judge a local contest. You may even win
a trip to the national finals, which will be
held during E-Week in Washington, DC!
IEEE-USA Precollege Education Committee will be
presenting a $1,000 prize to the Future City
Team that offers the best communications system.
Future City Teams from Florida,
Michigan, Nebraska and North
Carolina joined President Obama and
White House Science & Technology
Advisor John Holdren in a White
House press event on 17 Feb.
where the middle-schoolers had the chance to ask questions
of NASA Space Station astronauts.
See video and details
here.
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is a
year long effort, culminating on 18 Feb., to
identify volunteers who are mentors and role
models for young women to build and sustain
their interest in engineering careers.
On 20 Feb, thousands of kids and their parents
will descend on the National Building Museum in
Washington, DC for the IEEE-USA-sponsored
E-Week Family Day, a full day of
hands-on activities and demonstrations designed
to introduce kids to the excitement of
engineering. A similar
Family Day event was held in Charleston,
South Carolina on Feb. 20.
The
2010 Global Marathon for, by and about
Women in Engineering in Technology is set for
10-11 March. The marathon is a 24-hour
“conversation,” done through a combination of
live Internet chats, webcasts, teleconferences
and pre-recorded sessions on issues for, by and
about women in engineering and technology, which
are accessible to a worldwide audience.
National Robotics Week (10-18 April)
was a
new initiative developed by the National
Technology Collaborative with IEEE-USA support.
The inaugural week in 2010 included the
celebration of over 50 affiliated events in 21
states, DC, and Puerto Rico. Over 46,000 people
participated, including over 22,000 K-12
students.
IEEE-USA was a co-sponsor of
National Lab Day (12 May 2010), a nation-wide
initiative supported by over 200 science,
engineering and teacher associations, companies,
universities and the White House to connect
scientist and engineer volunteers with students
and educators at grade-levels 6-12 to improve
school labs and provide discovery-based
science and engineering experiences in the
classroom.
Lab Day is not just a day..but an on-going
project. The
National Lab Day website includes tools to match
teachers and their project requests with
scientists and engineers. Although
National Lab Day will be celebrated on May 12, the
goal is to create relationships or "communities
of support" between scientists, engineers and
teachers that will be sustained and leveraged on
an on-going basis.
IEEE-USA encourages members to
participate in
National Lab Day (NLD) on-going
efforts to help build communities of support
around teachers across the country, culminating
in a day of civic participation.
get involved
National Lab Day Highlights
Read the success stories and follow NLD
on Twitter via the
National Lab Day website
Read the
e-mail from Energy Secretary Stephen
Chu encouraging Dept. of Energy
scientists to get involved in National
Lab Day
Read the U.S. House of Representatives
resolution (H.Res.1213)
introduced by Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH),
which recognizes STEM education and
supports National Lab Day.
IEEE-USA
is
a partner in the
U.S. Science and Engineering Festival
(10-24 Oct.), a multi-cultural,
multi-generational and multi-disciplinary
celebration of science and engineering in the
United States, culminating in a massive two day
Expo on the National Mall in Washington, DC on
23-24 Oct. The Expo will feature exhibits
by over 500 science & engineering organizations
presenting a fun hands-on activity to inspire
the next generation of scientists and engineers.
2. Take advantage of the resources made
available by IEEE-USA and others.
3. Help the engineering community achieve
its goal of a million hours of volunteer STEM
outreach by entering your hours of volunteer
engagement at E-Week's
Million Hours Campaign.
4. Contact us if you have any
questions or suggestions or need any assistance.
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