E-Week 2002 Kits Now Available

    WASHINGTON (28 December 2001) - National Engineers Week 2002 is 17-23
February and now's the time to request your free E-Week kit from IEEE-USA or
the E-Week Website.

    The kit features information on the exciting new E-Week program, ZOOM
Into Engineering. Based on ZOOM, the popular PBS series, ZOOM Into
Engineering pairs fun activities for 6-12 year olds with opportunities to
interact with engineers.

    The kit also includes "50 Ways You Can Participate" in E-Week, a
planning calendar, talking points, E-Week poster, tips for working with
students and a product catalog and order form.

    To request your kit, contact Rita Hamilton at 202-785-0017, ext. 8354 or
r.m.hamilton@ieee.org. You can also get one by visiting
https://shop.eweek.org/eweek/ and clicking "Promotional Materials."


Let's Make a Difference During National Engineers Week

    By the time you read this, a new year has started with all of our hopes
and possibilities for better times. With that in mind, I encourage and
challenge you to find ways for increasing the public's awareness of the need
for sound math and science education and how engineers use these tools for
the betterment of our daily lives, as well as the security and economic
soundness of our nation. The easiest and most rewarding way to accomplish
this is to volunteer to assist our local schools, students and parents in
better understanding how technology is born from math and science, and how
these subjects don't have to be boring or hard to understand.

    January is a great month for preparing to make a difference during
National Engineers Week 2002, 17-23 February. Thanks to your E-Week
coalition, new tools have been prepared to assist in your volunteer efforts,
including a free E-Week kit with a host of ideas on how you can promote your
profession. To receive your kit directly from IEEE-USA, contact Rita
Hamilton at r.m.hamilton@ieee.org.

     In conjunction with E-Week 2002 sponsors, the American Society of Civil
Engineers and the Dupont Corporation, E-Week 2002 is launching a new
outreach program for grade levels K-6. This program, ZOOM Into Engineering,
was created by WGBH public television station of Boston from selected
episodes of the popular ZOOM daily television series and Web site
(www.pbskids.org/zoom) that challenges youngsters 6-12 to explore,
experiment and share their creativity.

    Unlike other E-Week activities for precollege students, ZOOM Into
Engineering can be a single activity or a multitude of activities and can be
conducted within several environments, including individual classrooms,
malls, parks and museums. Thus, one engineer volunteer or a group of us can
implement ZOOM Into Engineering.

    In preparation for the launch, more than 100 engineers and educators
from approximately 34 cities - including me - were trained for implementing
the program last October in Washington. Check out www.eweek.org to find if
your locality has a trained facilitator. If so, contact this person to find
out how to participate in the local training program and any upcoming
events. If your area isn't listed, you can order a ZOOM Into Engineering
toolkit (www.eweek.org/2002/Engineers/zoomB.shtml), which will provide a
training manual, support materials such as a CD ROM and video, and balloons
and pencils to hand out as goodies for your first students. The toolkit can
be ordered online at www.eweek.org/2002/Engineers/zoom_order.shtml or by
calling 412-741-1393.

    After reviewing the materials, recruit others to help out and you're on
your way. While you're considering the need and possibilities for this and
other precollege volunteer needs, remember that U.S. IEEE members and
societies only benefit from our E-Week investment when we bring these
educational programs to life in our local areas. Please accept the challenge
and help improve society's understanding of math, science and technology and
you - engineers who bring products and services to life.