OVERVIEW

During Engineers Week, I meet with 3rd and 4th graders to teach them about engineering design. When I visit the students, I am interested in introducing them to the idea that we engineers perform very important services to humanity, touching everyone's life in many ways on a daily basis. To do that, I need to be sure that they understand what I mean when I say design. I explain that design means a process used by engineers to solve problems, thereby filling people's needs. I explain that someone will have some sort of problem or need and that he may engage an engineer to help solve it.

To solve it, I tell them, the engineer will have to discuss it with the client to understand the problem fully, and then the engineer will think about it for a while, reflecting on how others have solved similar problems. The engineer will make a few sketches, maybe think about how much implementing the different ideas may cost, then discuss the ideas with the client. Then, I tell them, the client and the engineer will come to a conclusion about which idea will be most acceptable to the client, and the engineer will prepare plans in great detail showing a builder how to construct the solution, to turn an idea into reality.

Basically, I want to leave the students with the concept of engineering being a problem-solving profession, with the results usually being something that will make someone's life better,...