To celebrate this week of engineering games, activities, classroom lessons, career exploration, and meeting real-life engineers that runs every year in February, the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory has partnered with the city of Idaho Falls, Fluor Idaho, the Museum of Idaho and Idaho Falls School District 91 to bring a host of events to the community.

These events include bringing Mars City Design’s Vera Muylani to speak on February 22 to 6th grade students in the area, hosting a “Faces of Engineering Reception,” and supporting Museum of Idaho STEM outreach events, all of which are co-funded through a grant made on behalf of laboratory operator Battelle Energy Alliance. Muylani is an author, architect, and award-winning filmmaker, with master’s degrees in architecture and visual arts backing up her work.

“One of the most important things we can do to encourage young women who are interested in STEM is to provide them with opportunities to speak with other successful women about their aspirations,” Marianne Walk, INL deputy director for science and technology and chief research officer, noted in an press release. 

Muylani will also speak to 8th grade girls attending Idaho National Laboratory’s 12th annual “My Amazing Future” event on February 22, which welcomes approximately 150 eighth-grade girls from across eastern Idaho, including underserved, underrepresented and rural students, each year. The girls engage in hands-on science, engineering and math workshops that potentially bolster their interest in choosing STEM careers.

At My Amazing Future, the girls will extract DNA from a strawberry, discover cybersecurity work at the lab, learn about radioisotope thermoelectric generators, do hands-on chemistry projects, and work their way through 16 sessions in all. There’s also an educator workshop offered at the event.

Idaho National Laboratory performs work in each of the Department of Energy’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science, and environment. Idaho National Laboratory is the leading center in the nation for nuclear energy research and development, and Battelle Energy Alliance is responsible for the day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory. See more lab news at www.inl.gov.