This week is no ordinary week: It’s National Engineers Week. From February 21-27, schools, societies, and professionals around the country have been celebrating an extraordinary group in the manufacturing sector, our engineers.

According to the , E-Week was founded in 1951, but today, is a formal coalition of more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies, as well as government agencies. Their mission is to “promote recognition among parents, teachers, and students of the importance of a technical education and a high level of math, science, and technology literacy, and motivates youth to pursue engineering careers.” Now, that’s certainly a mission we can stand behind.

You can read more about the full list of events but there are some pretty cool opportunities happening this week throughout the country. Take February 27th, for example: It’s the annual day, where over six thousand people will visit the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. to experience hands-on activities provided by local engineering chapters. However, our nation’s capital isn’t the only spot where Engineering Week will be celebrated. Here in Nebraska, we’ve got plenty of engineers ready to show their stuff during their national week.

According to NTV, Anselmo-Merna, Arnold, and Callaway students in North Platte, Nebraska were able to visit Custer Public Power and the Nebraska Public Power District in honor of Engineering Week. This is important for the students as well as for the power companies: “If we’re thinking about the leaders of our future, in these activities we get to see just how innovative they can be…it gives us the confidence in what tomorrow can be like for us,” says Custer Public Power District representative Melissa Garcia.

From designing ways to handle nuclear materials to working on a power line simulation, students were able to experience what it’s like to be an engineer. For these students, Engineering Week was an opportunity to learn more about a field they may never have known existed.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering has participated in Engineers Week since 1913, coming together with students in Lincoln and Omaha to plan and coordinate competitions, student banquets, and more! Here’s the link to the pretty jam-packed schedule of , showing just how many ways there were for students to get involved this week.

Thanks to U.S. Cellular Network Operations Manager Kyle Wolfe, Grand Island Middle School students were able to experience the newest technology thanks to Engineering Week. In honor of the week, Wolfe brought in cell phones for the students to look at: “Ten years ago, kids in junior high didn’t have cell phones in their hands,” Wolfe said. “Now everybody does. You’re right, the technology has gone crazy. We really have developed the mobile internet and been part of that, which is very exciting.”

How are you celebrating engineers this week? Did we miss anything? Leave a comment and let us know!

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photo credit: via