What's the best way to start gaining engineering experience at an early age?

First you should focus on creating an engineering brain to gain engineering experience at your age. To create an engineer mind, you have to see, think, and feel everything around you in an engineer way. Look at anything around you (refrigerator, air conditioner, coffee machine, etc.) and think, how and why is this machine made this way. Question yourself and feel how much time, energy, and logic the engineering team has put in to create that machine. If you start thinking this way, by the time you step into a real engineer’s world after your graduation you will be a great engineer.

And as I always say to everyone, always keep up-to-date with the latest technologies in the market - that helps too.

There are so many ways to start learning about engineering at any age! Keeping in mind the age of the average 7th grader, I recommend the following:

1. Join a local club or competition – One of my favorite clubs is SWENext which is run by the Society of Women Engineers. If you are under the age of 13, have your parents sign you up for SWENext or if you are 13 already, then you can sign up on your own. There are more than 280 SWENext Clubs around the world and you can search for one near you on their website. Another awesome organization that hosts STEM events is the STEM Ecosystem!
2. Learn online - Even just searching 'What does a Civil Engineer do' on places like YouTube can help you learn about all the awesome careers in engineering. If you are looking for hands-on activities, I recommend checking out Emily Calandrelli on YouTube. I personally have added resources to help folks on their STEM journey at stemchangemaker.org/resources.
3. Put together a research project and submit to a local science fair - Science fairs are an awesome way to be creative while following the scientific method to conduct a research project.

I hope this helps you explore the wide and wonderful world of engineering!

There are so many opportunities to get involved! Take all of the math and science classes you can, get involved in LEGO League, buy some robots online and program them, and start speaking in front of people whenever you get the chance! The reason I say you should do the speaking part is that it will start to build confidence and help you when presenting projects.

Reach out to your local Society of Women Engineers chapter, local university engineering departments, and local engineering professional societies (ASCE, ASME, IEEE, etc) and ask if they have any age-appropriate activities coming up. Many organizations host annual events for reaching out to girls who are interested in engineering, and they would love to help get you in touch with someone who can help you register for their events. Your local science museums also might have summer camps with an emphasis on engineering-related activities.

The journey towards a future career often starts off in one direction and moves into other options and opportunities or sometimes a completely new experience. If right now you are focusing on engineering there are a number of programs that help you get some experience.

First look at your school or local community. Many times there are teachers or local community centers who take up the LEGO foundation program for STEM development in youth. Or better yet join up with some of your like minded friends and start your own team.

Not interested in LEGO robotics? Do a Google Search on STEM or the Engineering Program you are interested in coupled with Youth or youth programs. Here are some I found:

• Verizon Innovative Learning
• Chevron STEM
• 3M STEM

There are also non-profit organizations and sometimes you may even find a conference that you can attend. "STEM for ALL" has video's from their 2022 conference online.

A multitude of options at your fingertips, find the one that fits you best.

I think you are already on the right path by asking questions now! So impressive! If you are interested in learning more, try ANY of the STEM programs, activities, clubs, summer programs, weekend events in your area or through your school. Try it and if you don’t like it, at least you are learning what you don’t like and fine-tuning your interest!

If there are no activities or events, draw up some interest and help host an event (and develop your leadership & organizational skills at the same time)! Google STEM projects in your area - communities and schools are always eager to help young individuals learn more and do more! I love your ambition – stay the path and you’ll go far! (p.s. Engineering IS fun!)

See if you can fix things! If it breaks, glue it back together; does it break again? If it doesn’t work the way you want, can you change it so it will do what you want? Engineering is all about solving problems, including some mighty big problems, but to start with, solving the small problems in front of you is the perfect way to start.

There are so many ways to explore engineering at your age! Programs like Future City, SWENext, and Girls Who Code are already active at many schools, but if your school doesn't have a club like that, I would encourage you to find a teacher (you may have the best luck with math, science, or technology teachers) and ask if they would help you start one!

There are probably also summer STEM camps in your area, ask your school guidance counselor or teacher, check if local colleges run summer camp programs, or search online for programs in your area. Girl Scouts has done a fantastic job in recent years of expanding their STEM badges. If you're a scout, ask your troop leader if your group can work towards a badge in a topic that interests you, or look for GS Council events focusing on STEM.

You can also try to job shadow an engineer! Many of the EngineerGirl Gallery members are willing to set up job shadowing opportunities for future engineers, see if any are local to you!

The fact that you want to learn, means you will naturally be learning in everything you do! In 7th grade I think the best thing you can do is to keep taking all the math classes you can. Math is so fundamental in all engineering. Beyond that, ask teachers, counselors, etc., for opportunities. The more people that know you are interested, the better chance they will reach out to you when opportunities arise.

You can also do some web searches for engineering camps, workshops, etc. If you want to explore a certain area of engineering, try adding that to your searches, for example, robotics versus just engineering.

You can also visit libraries, you can check out books and see what community postings they might have. There are also a number of professional organizations that put on workshops and camps, such as Women in Engineering, Society of Women in Engineering, IEEE, ASME, etc. Student chapters of engineering societies at universities are often involved in community outreach. You may even reach out and ask someone to mentor you – and even see what it’s like to be an engineering student.

I hope this gives you some ideas of places to look. Sometimes you will find interesting engineering in places you least expect. The next time you see a play or musical, look at the backdrops and how they move around – there is a lot of engineering in that. The next time you are at an amusement park, look at all the rides and behind the scenes – again a lot of engineering! And I agree – learning about all of this is so fun!