At the University of Washington's first engineering open house, visitors marveled at early-1900s scientific advances: using electricity to cook and curl hair, sending wireless messages over a distance of five miles, experimenting with lightning.
Fast forward a century, and this week's on-campus activities for the 100th anniversary of Engineering Discovery Days include forming nanoparticles, extracting DNA from a strawberry, watching a human-powered submarine and building a prosthetic device.
Families are invited to experience nearly 100 interactive exhibits that demonstrate basic science concepts for children, expose prospective students to cutting-edge UW research and engage the public in engineering innovation.
High school students and their families can attend presentations starting at 9 a.m. for high school and community college students to learn about UW College of Engineering departments; admissions, scholarships and financial aid; women in science and engineering programs and UW housing and food options. Saturday's exhibits will open at 10 a.m.
Many favorites, including 3-D printing demonstrations and racing a canoe made of lightweight concrete, will return. Visitors can help solve the fictitious murder of a famous synthetic biologist using DNA, explore learning-curve concepts in a human-sized maze, see fish robots swim, watch model houses sink as soil liquefies or turn electronic waste into jewelry.
The promenade along Rainier Vista and Drumheller Fountain will be filled with outdoor exhibits, and many engineering buildings will house indoor exhibits. The Engineering Library is hosting a special exhibit on local engineering milestones of the past 100 years: "A Century of Invention: Engineering in Washington State since 1915."
Note: events also occur Friday, but these are full.
