WRPS engineers Bryce Eaton and Ashley Ansolabehere pose for a photo with third graders at Maya Angelou Elementary in Pasco, Wash.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Giving young students a taste of what it’s like to be an engineer is the focus of Engineers, or E, Week.

   Each year, employees from Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), the EM Office of River Protection Tank Farms contractor at the Hanford Site, visit local classrooms as part of a national outreach program designed to encourage young people to pursue an education in engineering.

   This year, the event was bigger than ever, with nearly 100 WRPS employees visiting 26 area schools in the Tri-Cities, Wash., region to help stir interest in more than 5,000 students.

   Over the course of the week-long outreach, WRPS employees teach the students about engineering and its impact on the world. They also lead fun, interactive games in which they build hoop gliders, bridges, and wind meters.

   “It’s always been a great opportunity for us to make a difference,” said Kerri Lukins, the event’s lead organizer. “The teachers and students are so supportive, and coworkers jump at the opportunity to visit the schools. It’s only a few hours of our time, but it’s amazing to see the difference it makes to these kids.”

   The program has grown significantly over the past four years. When WRPS began participating in E Week in 2013, presenters engaged 1,060 students. This year, nearly five times that number of students participated.

   “It’s been great. This program has definitely grown in a big way,” Lukins said. “We’ve received so many thank yous from teachers and from students who make and send us cards. To hear the positive feedback and see all the pictures after the events are over with — that’s what makes everything worth the effort.” 

   Lukins hopes to see the program expand, with the goal of reaching at least 6,000 students next year.