Engineering Expo Expands to Three Days of Exploration

WEATHER UPDATE 02/22/13 4:20 p.m. -- Engineering Expo will spring back to life on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013.  Join us for a morning of discovery and exploration.  K-12 students who signed up for competitions on Thursday or Friday are welcome to bring their designs and devices to Expo for testing.  KU students will work to put as many devices to the test as they can before Expo ends at noon.

WEATHER UPDATE 02/21/13 5:43 P.M. -- The University of Kansas Lawrence Campus will be closed Friday. Engineering Expo events on Friday are cancelled. Expo coordinators are hopeful conditions will improve for Saturday. If Expo takes place on Saturday, students in the region can bring their devices and have them "tested" at KU, however the formal competitions will not be held.   We agree, it's very sad.

WEATHER UPDATE-- The major snow storm has people wondering, What about Expo? 

Every engineer will tell you that safety is the most important consideration. If the University of Kansas Lawrence Campus is closed because the storm has created hazardous conditions, Expo will be canceled on that particular day and the competitions scheduled for that day will not be rescheduled.  

If the University is open, Expo will proceed, and we welcome all participants scheduled for that day.

**02/21/13 UPDATE** If KU re-opens on Friday, Thursday's middle school contestants can bring their designs on Friday. Expo coordinators will work to include as many contestants in the competitions as they can within the time constraints.


 Efforts will be taken to alert teachers, counselors and parents of an announced closing as soon as possible.  Visitors can also go directly to The University of Kansas website for the latest closing information.

Each of the three days of Expo will be considered separately.  If a day is canceled, that day's contestants are welcome to attend a subsequent day as a visitor. 


Of course, we all hope the weather forecasters are wrong because so many contestants have worked so hard.

Engineering Expo Expands to Three Days

A tradition that dates back more than a century at the University of Kansas School of Engineering has a new twist this year.

Organizers of the school’s annual Engineering Expo have added an extra day of student competitions in order to accommodate increased interest in engineering from K-12 students across the region and to ease congestion at KU’s engineering complex.

“We had record attendance last year – more than 2,000 people. The hallways everywhere were packed. There wasn’t even room to sit for lunch, so we decided to make Expo a three-day event, adding a second day of student competitions,” said Qi Chen, a junior in chemical engineering and registration coordinator for this year’s Expo.

Engineering Expo is set for Feb. 21-23. The student competitions are Feb. 21 and Feb. 22, with events and demonstrations scheduled for 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Day 1 is for middle school competitions. Day 2 features competitions for elementary school and high school students. It will also include a keynote address from Burns and McDonnell CEO Greg Graves, who will speak to high school students at 9 a.m. at the Lied Center. Saturday events run from 9 a.m. to noon and feature engineering displays and a public open house. All events are free.

Expo provides K-12 students the opportunity to test their engineering skills in a variety of competitions, ranging from seeing how much weight a bridge made from pasta can support, to designing and launching rockets made from construction paper.

For a quick video overview of Engineering Expo.

“The biggest thing I’d hope students get out of Expo is a greater understanding of what engineering actually is,” said Joe Weaver, a sophomore in aerospace engineering and groups and activities coordinator for this year’s Expo. “Personally, I had no idea what was involved in engineering until late in my high school career. This is a great opportunity to communicate what engineering is and get these students excited about it.”

In addition to competitions, Expo visitors will find several hands-on activities that demonstrate a variety of engineering and science principles.

“I feel like hands-on experience is especially important,” said Laura-Kate Assenmacher, a sophomore in architectural engineering and finance coordinator for this year’s Expo. “In high school, I knew engineering involved a lot of math and science, but I didn’t have a lot of practical knowledge of it or know what it looked like. Expo is a great place to experience what engineering is all about.”

For more information, go to Engineering Expo