As we do every year, the engineering profession will celebrate National Engineering and Geoscience Month (NEGM) in March 2021, and for the first time, this year’s NEGM activities will be entirely online.
Though National Engineering and Geoscience Month celebrations this year will look different than in years past, the goal remains the same: to spark an interest in the next generation of engineers and to celebrate the role that engineers play in society. We are developing a number of online activities that are designed to give children and youth the opportunity to learn about the many disciplines of engineering and where their skills and interests can fit in.
As we work to get these activities ready for March, we wanted to give you a sneak peak of what you can expect when National Engineering and Geoscience Month kicks off on March 1:
- Digital Scavenger Hunt (K to Grade 6)
Send your students on an online scavenger hunt to learn about engineering and geoscience. This scavenger hunt will take your students across Canada where they will discover what earth materials we mine and how they are used in everyday items. They’ll also explore a variety of engineering marvels and learn about some of Canada’s greatest inventions and how they are used today. Students who complete the scavenger hunt throughout the month of March will be entered into a draw for a prize. Stay tuned for more details over the next few weeks.
- Engineering Design Challenges (Grades 6 to 8)
Designed to spark an interest in STEM while supporting remote learning, these design challenges have been created with a “build it” theme running throughout. These challenges provide students an opportunity to create and innovate as they work on projects that often have real-world significance or context. All of the design challenges use simple materials you can find at home. Students who complete the challenges will be entered into a draw for a prize. Stay tuned for more details over the next few weeks.
- Future City Experience (Grades 6 to 8)
YOUR MISSION: Design and build a futuristic city on the Moon and describe how the city uses two Moon resources to keep its residents safe and healthy. Educators and students are supported with a virtual STEM mentor, access to live virtual Q&A’s with an engineer and will have an opportunity to present their design to a panel of engineers who will provide them with feedback! Space is limited! To register and learn more, visit our Explore Engineering website.
- Online game (Grades 9 to 12)
Students will start the quiz by evaluating several different interdisciplinary problems related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and by selecting which aspects of the problems they find most interesting. Based on their answers they are presented with three (3) of eight (8) possible engineering disciplines that best align with their interests. From here they are able to explore (with option to complete more categories at the end of the quiz) a number of trivia-based and problem-based questions specific to the engineering discipline. At the completion of the quiz, the students will be provided with all the answers to the questions they explored and will receive an invitation to a digital “Day in the Life” where they will have the opportunity to meet engineering students currently pursing engineering studies at a university in Canada. All students who participate will have their name entered into a draw for local and national prizes.
- Life-long learning events (post-secondary students and professionals)
In these times of great adaptation, nothing is as powerful as practicing how to learn and expanding our perspectives as a community. Throughout the month of March, National Engineering Month Ontario is organizing online events—whether panel discussions, workshops, or network events—from across Canada. These events are curated around specific themes throughout March check out the full calendar of events here.
We hope that you and your students will join Engineers Canada, the engineering regulators, and the engineering profession in taking part in these activities during National Engineering and Geoscience Month in March!