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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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[Adult Voice Over]
What makes someone an engineer?
Do you think you might be an engineer?

[00:00:09]
[Sound effect of a vinyl record scratching]

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[Child voice over]
Hang on.
Rewind.
What is an engineer?

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[Description:]
Series of still images of adults in a variety of scenes: working on computers, reading books, and working on hi-tech tools in labs; then a series of images of engineered items: packaging around fruits and vegetables, a plastic swing, a roller coaster, and arm chairs.

[Adult voice over:]
Engineers are people like you and me.
They figure out how to make things to solve problems.
There are a lot of different types of engineers who focus on different kinds of problems.
For example, engineers develop the packaging to keep your food fresh, created fun toys and rides to stop you from getting bored, and design chairs to sit on.
Even though they work on different problems,
engineers do have some things in common.
Let's find out more about what engineers do.

[00:00:44 --> 00:00:46]
[Adult continues to speak, but scene changes. Focused now on a young girl sitting on the floor inside a home. She is rolling a piece of paper.]

[Adult voice over:]
I wonder what Nikki is up to.

00:00:46 --> 00:01:08]
[Description:]
Nikki is using paper to build a tower. The main structure is made of five rectangular pieces of paper. Two pieces are standing on their short sides and leaning toward the center. She has added one rectangle horizontally above these two, like the floor of a house. The final two pieces form a triangular roof.
There is one rolled column of paper standing on the floor at each corner of the base of her tower.
She has a small stuffed animal on the floor next to her tower.
As she speaks, Nikki tries to add another piece of paper to the tower, and the whole tower collapses.

[Nikki]
I'm solving a problem.
I want to make a tower to hold my favorite stuffed animal.
When I'm engineering, things don't always go the way I planned.
Sometimes things fall apart or break or just don't work.
When that happens, it's OK.
Because I know I can make my design better, and I keep trying.

[Description:]
Nikki has redesigned her tower. Now, she has four columns on the bottom layer. There is a piece placed horizontally on top of these columns. Above that, there are four more columns, closer together and one more horizontal paper. She is trying to add another layer.

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Hm.
Has that ever happened to you?
What do you do when something doesn't work very well?
What else makes you an engineer?
Let's check in with Brianne.

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[Description:]
Brianne's stuffed animal is on top of the cabinet above the refrigerator. She can't reach it. While she speaks, she tries using a dishtowel to reach the stuffed animal. That doesn't work. Then several idea bubbles appear: a shovel, a sliding board, a net with a handle.

[Brianne:]
My toy is stuck.
And I'm engineering a design to get it down safely.
When solving problems, I try different solutions.
There isn't just one right way to do it.
Lots of things might do the trick.
Sometimes I get new ideas from books, websites, or other people.


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[Adult voice over:]
Let's think.
When designing solutions, do you ever explore different options?
What else makes you an engineer?
I wonder what Jahaziel is doing?


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[Description:]
Jahaziel sits on the floor. As he speaks, he rolls different balls on different surfaces and takes notes. First, he rolls a ball of aluminum foil across the carpeted floor. Then, he slides a flat toy down an inclined piece of cardboard. Next, he rolls the aluminum foil ball down the inclined cardboard. Finally, he lays the cardboard flat and rolls the aluminum foil ball across the cardboard.


[Jahaziel:]
I'm starting to solve my problem.
And just like an engineer, I break the problem down into small parts.
Then, I try to solve one part of the problem at a time.
I want to build something that can carry a weight across a room.
But I'm starting with just making wheels that will roll.
00:02:11,420 --> 00:02:15,530
Once the wheels work, I can move on to another part.

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[Adult voice over:]
What about you?
Have you broken a problem down into smaller parts?
We've learned a lot about how engineers solve problems.
They improve upon failed designs, create and test different solutions, and break problems down into smaller parts.
These are things that all engineers do.
Try these strategies, and you'll be thinking like an engineer too.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]
[On screen text]
Made possible through the generous support of Overdeck Family Foundation
EiE Engineering is Elementary
Museum of Science