Engineers are problem solvers. They use the principles of science and mathematics to solve practical problems. They work in many fields, including design and development, testing, production, and maintenance. Engineering technicians assist and support professional engineers. The Federal Government classifies 17 different engineering specialties, including:
The following websites provide an excellent introduction to the world of engineering.
Created by the National Society of Professional Engineers, this site introduces fascinating technologies at work in a kind of state-by-state online field trip.
http://www.engineeringsights.org/
Bring math, science and technology to life with fun games and activities for young children.
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/
NASA’s education website providing mathematics, engineering, and scientific projects for students and resources for teachers based on the NASA space program.
http://www.education.nasa.gov/home/index.html
A building professional's guide to more than 90 environmentally appropriate technologies and practices
http://www.advancedbuildings.org/
Explore large structures and what it takes to build them
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/
Explore a vast collection of engineering games, links, and activities.
http://www.discoverengineering.org/default.asp
Take interactive tours of extreme—and extremely fascinating—engineering projects.
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/engineering/engineering.html
JETS The Junior Engineering Technical Society is a national nonprofit educational organization that promotes engineering and technology careers to young people. Features engineering education programs.
http://www.jets.org/index.cfm
Presented by the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, this site is designed for students, teachers, journalists, and anyone who wants to explore the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and the AI scientist.
http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/html/welcome.html
A collection of learning activities from The Tech Museum of Innovation
http://www.thetech.org/education/programs/athome/
ActionBioscience.org a non-commercial, educational website promoting bioscience literacy and education. Features articles by scientists, educators, and students. Includes original bioscience lessons and resources.
http://www.actionbioscience.org/
Games and activities from the PBS kids show ZOOM
http://pbskids.org/zoom/games/index.html
Learning activities based on the science, technology, and discoveries of the Hubble Telescope
http://hubblesite.org/
Animated illustrations that explain the inner workings of a variety of steam, Stirling, and internal combustion engines.
http://www.keveney.com/Engines.html
LEGO Mindstorms the official home to the Mindstorms product line of Lego sets combining programmable bricks with electric motors, sensors, Lego bricks, and Lego Technic pieces such as gears, axles, and beams.
http://mindstorms.lego.com/?domainredir=www.legomindstorms.com
Fun games like “tic tac tech” and brain teasers that explore and reveal the technology of everyday life
http://www.gettech.org/
Major achievements with timelines and details
http://www.greatachievements.org/
Information on technology inventions, innovations, and discoveries for kids
http://www.brainpop.com/technology/seeall/
Explores the structure of cells, how to carve with light, how soil keeps the world in balance, and much more
http://www.lbl.gov/wonder/
A wealth of information about wind energy, solar energy, alternative fuels, and much more
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/kids/
This site from the Energy Information Administration invites kids to join Energy Ant in discovering different types of energy.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/
Produced by the National Weather Service, this site offers a comprehensive introduction to weather and weather safety and includes numerous lesson plans suitable for high school use.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/
Developed by the Federal Highway Administration of the United States Department of Transportation, this site explores the technology of intelligent transportation systems and provides information on careers and career opportunities in the field.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/education/its/itshome.htm
Produced by NASA for use in high schools and flight technology programs, Virtual Skies explores the worlds of aviation technology, air traffic management, and current research. http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/vsmenu/vsmenu.html
Based on Nobel Prize-winning achievements, these games and simulations are educational, inspiring, and a whole lot of fun.
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/
“The TIME Center is an effective connector for us to the manufacturing industry.”
June Streckfus, Executive Director
Maryland Business Roundtable
for Education
This material is supported by an NSF ATE Program Grant (0302754). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov)
© Copyright 2009 The TIME Center. All rights reserved.