Discover Engineering Family Day is a fun-filled day designed to introduce students 4 to 12 to the wonder of engineering and the importance of technological literacy. It attracts thousands of people and kicks off DiscoverE Engineers Week activities in the national capital area.
Nearly 30 Family Day exhibitors present basic engineering principles through hands-on and mind-challenging activities. Exhibitors change from year to year, but are typically made up local and national engineering societies, science organizations, national corporations and public television stations. Special demonstrations are also sprinkled throughout the day. Past features include Engineer and TV personality Nate Ball demonstrating his reverse-rappelling Atlas Powered Ascender, a replica NASCAR race car, a model of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover, and a Blind Driver Challenge simulator from the National Federation of the Blind.
No parking is available at the National Building Museum. However, several parking garages are available in the area, as well as metered street parking on Saturday (make sure to bring adequate change or have the Parkmobile app on your smartphone). We recommend that you take Metrorail. The National Building Museum is directly across the street from the Judiciary Square Metro Station on the Red Line.
Attendees are primarily children, parents, teachers, scouts, youth groups, engineers, scientists, technologists and others interested in engineering. Attendance usually ranges between 7,000 and 9,000. All are welcome and admission is free.