For Immediate Release: April 30, 2008
Media Contact: Marketing and Communication Department
2008 Discover Engineering Family Day: Media Advisory
WHAT
Become a creative inventor, an engineer, and a mathematician for a day! The National Building Museum and the National Engineers Week Foundation welcome families, scout groups, and all curious visitors to debunk the myths of engineering and to discover how engineers turn their ideas into reality. We invite you to participate in a day-long festival packed with demonstrations, competitions, and hands-on fun for all ages.
Throughout the day, children and adults can:
Explore the inner-workings of a real race car with a professional race car driver
Build an ascender, capable of carrying a ping pong ball four feet down a zip-line
Take your Polaroid picture with Digit™ from the PBS series Cyberchase
Power the planet with clean energy and race to save it from ecological disaster in PowerUp, IBM and TryScience.org's new 3-D virtual world game, which launches at the Festival
Design, test, and build a model railroad bridge
Solve all kinds of design and engineering challenges
Try much, much more!
SPECIAL THIS YEAR! – Meet Nate Ball, host of PBS's Design Squad, and watch as he rappels from the National Building Museum's roof trusses using his new invention–the ATLAS powered rope ascender.
Major funding for the Discover Engineering Family Day is provided by the National Engineers Week Foundation and IEEE-USA. Additional support provided by the Project Management Institute, with local support provided by the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Nation's Capital Chapter.
WHO
Most appropriate for ages 5 to 13 and their adult companions.
WHERE
National Building Museum
401 F Street NW Washington, DC 20001
(Judiciary Square Metro, Red Line)
WHEN
Saturday, February 16, 2008 / Rain or Shine!
10:00 am – 4:30 pm: Discover Engineering Family Day
Free. $5 donation suggested. Drop-in program. Scouts and other large groups should register via email at youthgroups@nbm.org.
IMAGES
Images of past Discover Engineering Family Day Festivals available upon request.
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to advancing the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives. Through its exhibitions, educational programs, online content, and publications, the Museum has become a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the world we build for ourselves. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on Twitter: @BuildingMuseum and Facebook.
