Part of CURENT’s mission is to expose pre-college students to engineering and to offer them a chance to experience fun engineering-related activities at an early age. Our goal is to provide a connection for the student to the idea that engineering is an exciting field of study that opens up a new world of academic and career opportunities.

Family Engineering Nights fit in to that mission by collaborating with local schools and offering a variety of hands-on engineering exhibits for K-8 students and their families. The center visits schools and sets up activities that are selected by teachers and include solar cars, windmills, paper helicopters, homemade prosthetic hands, and bridges.

The Family Engineering Night events are usually held in a school gym, and activities are facilitated by school teachers and CURENT students and staff. These events are a great way to supplement STEM-related projects into a school curriculum. Family Engineering Nights encourage students and their families to work together to solve exciting engineering challenges, and then take the conversation about the various fields of engineering home with them.

The following schools have participated with CURENT for Family Engineering Night:

• • Amherst Elementary School
  • Blue Grass Elementary School
  • Christenberry Elementary School
  • Clinton Elementary School
  • Grand Oakes Elementary School
  • Green Magnet STEAM Academy
  • Lake City Elementary School
  • Sarah Moore Greene Elementary School
  • Sequoyah Elementary School
  • Shannondale Elementary School
  • Spring Hill Elementary School
  • Whittle Springs Middle School
  • Vine Middle Magnet School

Activities

Blast Off	Tumbling Towers	Learning from Failure
Give Me a Hand	Against the Wind	Thrill Seekers
Bright Ideas	Let’s Communicate