Hundreds of students and teachers participated in hands-on activities this spring at the University of Washington (UW) College of Engineering Discovery Days on the Seattle campus. Demonstrations by faculty and graduate students showed participants what engineers do and how they work. Exhibits were spread throughout fourteen buildings and outside on the Husky Union Building lawn. It's not often that UW departments open their doors to the public. Some exhibits featured computer simulations, robots, wind tunnel demonstrations, biomaterial manipulations, and nanoscience experiments. The UW also offered information sessions about the university community and the admissions process.
DO-IT's exhibit demonstrated assistive technology and accessible science equipment, such as a microscope connected to a laptop computer for people with low vision. A networking event followed, and participants talked about the intersection and overlap of two career fields—psychology and computing. They also heard about mentors' experiences in college. For more information about Discovery Days consult www.engr.washington.edu/alumcomm/openhouse.html.