WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Seven Walla Walla River Valley schools will help the Walla Walla District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, celebrate National Engineers Week, Feb. 19-25, by participating in engineering design contests.
Walla Walla District’s Engineering Division traditionally sponsors an “E-Week” structural or mechanical design
familiarization event among participating Walla Walla-area middle schools and high schools. Corps employees help students test structures they built, to include trebuchets and catapults with a variety of materials.
This year the contest is bridge construction. Walla Walla District engineers will travel to Walla Walla River Valley
schools between Feb. 21-Mar. 7.
The current schedule is as follows:
Feb. 21: Walla Walla High School, time yet to be determined by school officials.
Feb. 21: John Sager Middle School, all day.
Feb. 23: DeSales High School, Walla Walla, 8 a.m.
Feb. 24: Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, time yet to be determined by school officials.
Feb. 27: Walla Walla Valley Academy, 10 a.m.
Feb. 28: Lincoln Alternate High School, Walla Walla, time yet to be determined by school officials.
Mar. 7: Central Middle School, Walla Walla, all day.
“As engineers, we enjoy being creative, discovering how our world works and solving real problems for our society,” E-Week coordinator Jeffrey Lyon said. “I think those basic qualities interest us all at different levels. We at the Corps of Engineers enjoy taking our celebration of E-Week to local schools and watching the kids find their 'inner engineer' for a week.”
Students are allowed to use only one sheet of one-sixteenths-inch thick balsa wood and liquid-based glue for bridge construction. The students are also given a list of specifications to help them build the bridge in time for the big testing day. Each bridge will be tested and scored through a test apparatus that will measure structural efficiency, which is calculated by dividing the maximum supported load by the weight of the bridge.
National Engineers Week was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. It's always
celebrated at the time of George Washington's birthday. Our nation's first president was a military engineer and a
land surveyor. Every year, the Nation’s engineers take a week to highlight the practice and accomplishments of
engineers to show what can be done with a little science and imagination. For more information about National
Engineers Week go online to www.eweek.org .
For more information about the Walla Walla District, visit our website at www.nww.usace.army.mil.
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