Who Wants to be an Engineer?

Who Wants to be an Engineer?
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"Loosely" based on the hit ABC television program of a similar name, Who Wants to be an Engineer is a fun way of exposing K-12 students to engineering.

Got a group of students coming to campus and need something to do with them?  Have an exuberant student willing to interact with said students?  This game may be your answer!  The intent is to help students recognize that they already know some of the general science, math, and engineering facts that they will need to become an engineer. 

Exit surveys of participants indicate students leave the activity with a more positive impression of engineering and are more likely to consider engineering as a profession.  Of course, we asked this question of kindergartners, so the exact question was a bit different.

Students have the opportunity to answer three questions of increasing difficulty, all keyed to their grade level (elementary, junior high, and high school).  Correct answers win prizes (as simple as pencils all the way up to t-shirts or even better).  Incorrect answers have less fortunate consequences.

The game automates the visualization and prize tracking.  A student is required to host the game, another to run the PC, a third to manage contestant selection, and a fourth to assist in prize distribution. 

The question database is easily modified to suit your specific needs.

System Requirements:  Windows PC, 128MB RAM, enough hard drive space, a video card, a keyboard, and a few other commonly found components.  The game has been used successfully under Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP.

No warranty is expressed or implied. The program may not be modified. You are granted a license to use the program for outreach activities on behalf on engineering in exchange for a copy of the database file containing any added questions. Use at your own risk.  May not be used for profit. Sounds embedded in the program may be copyrighted by others, hence the mute function.

You will no doubt have many questions about the database file and program operation. Feel free to email me with questions.  The more questions I get, the more likely I am to produce complete documentation.  The basics of running the program are in the PowerPoint file in the Downloads section, along with notes on formatting the database file (requires MS Access).

Downloads

Please email me if you download the program.

WWTBE Database formatting (PDF, 12K) This will help with formatting of the database of questions to customize the question set.
WWTBE Flowchart (PPT, 67k)  This explains the actual operation of the game, which is intended to minimize errors during the show

WWTBE Install package (ZIP, 13MB) Everything you need to install the game on your own PC. 

Who Wants to be an Engineer?  A paper presented at the 2003 ASEE Annual Meeting on the use of the software in outreach

 
Send mail to Dr. Silverstein with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2001,2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013  David L. Silverstein
Last modified: December 03, 2013
Send mail to Dr. Silverstein with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2001-2015  David L. Silverstein
Last modified: July 01, 2014