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The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering will participate in the annual SciFest Engineering Expo at the Saint Louis Science Center Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-24 in celebration of National Engineers Week (EWeek). The event educates people about the diversity and importance of engineering by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.

The SIUE solar car and Cougar Baja car will be on display. Grade school and middle school age children (K-8) with their parents comprise the majority of visitors. These types of interactive exhibits are the most popular.

At these events, solar car team leader Sydney Stogner, a junior from Shiloh, says their goal is to educate the public on renewable energy, and to inspire the love of science and engineering to bright young minds. “We want to communicate to children that renewable energy isn’t just something that you see in a book, that you can actually harness the power of the sun to do some amazing things like power a vehicle,” she said. 

Cougar Baja team leader Joe Trautman, a senior from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., points to an opportunity to educate the public, particularly younger kids in this instance, that engineering isn’t just a product, it’s a mindset. “We want to communicate to the next generation that engineering can be found anywhere and applied everywhere,” he said. “Just about every one of us on the team had a go-cart or something of that nature as a kid.  We always enjoyed it and found it fun, but none of us ever really thought about making one until we were exposed to it in school. Kids have much more potential if they are exposed to projects like this at a young age to start thinking about what is possible and what they would like to do with their future.”

Brent Vaughn, a lecturer and lab specialist in the Department of Civil Engineering, will also be on hand with the SIUE American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter. “We will talk to visitors about the work civil engineers do to design the infrastructure that we all depend upon,” he said. “We will take our small shaketable with a simple structure mounted to it to simulate some of the things that engineers need to consider when designing structures to resist earthquakes and other extreme events.”

Among the other universities joining SIUE in the event are Missouri Science and Technology, Saint Louis University, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, University of Missouri-Columbia and Washington University in St. Louis. A variety of professional business organizations also participate.

The free event is open to the public and routinely attracts 7-10,000 visitors. The Science Center is open 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m Saturday and 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Missouri Society of Professional Engineers St. Louis Chapter is coordinating the event with the Saint Louis Science Center.

Photo (L-R): SIUE sophmore mechatronics and robotics engineering student Jacqueline Corral, of Chicago, shows the solar car to sophomore nursing student Sara Simpson, of Galatia.