April 7, 2021

Although 2021’s Engineering Open House (EOH) was not the traditional live, on-campus event but virtual due to COVID-19, I-MRSEC researchers who are passionate about STEM outreach didn’t let that stop them. Unable to engage in person with the public, specifically the numerous children who usually attend, they figured out how to meet with them face to face anyway—via a music video. Their goals? To communicate about 2D materials research, to show the public how tax dollars are being spent, and to share benefits to be gained from scientific research. They also hoped youngsters watching might be intrigued and eventually pursue careers in research. Along with inspiring the public, they hoped to rekindle their own excitement by reminding themselves why they’d chosen science careers.

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April 3, 2019

On March 8–9, thousands of visitors, including children and their parents, school field trips, and presenters, such as current Illinois engineering students and even alumni showed up to participate in Dare to Defy, the 2019 Engineering Open House. For the elementary and middle-school-aged visitors, it was a chance to learn more about science and engineering. (And let’s admit it, for students and even teachers, a day away from school is always fun.) For many high school students, it was a chance to discover what being an engineering student at Illinois might be like and possibly narrow down their career choices. For the many alumni and their industry colleagues who presented exhibits, it was a chance to display their products, share their experiences in engineering, and possibly get some young students interested in their field and maybe even their company. For all participants, it was a chance to celebrate engineering at Illinois.

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March 15, 2018

On March 9–10, 2018, thousands of visitors flooded the University of Illinois campus to participate in EOH 2018: Drafting the Future: classes on field trips, parents who played hookey from work and brought their kids, high school students considering Engineering at Illinois. And there to meet them were hundreds of proud Engineering students, eager to show off what they’ve been learning or researching.

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March 27, 2017

Making the pilgrimage to Illinois to take part in Illuminate New Horizons, the 2017 edition of Engineering Open House (EOH) were thousands of visitors, young and old, including mumerous classes on field trips, and lots of families. During the event, held on March 10–11, visitors encountered some of the many faces of engineering, ranging from current engineering students from all across campus, to alumni, who were excited to come back to their alma mater to show visitors some of the exciting projects they’re currently involved in, and possibly do some recruiting. It was clear that exhibitors hoped to engage visitors in their demonstrations and exhibits, many of which included interesting hands-on activities, to show them not only the breadth of the field of engineering, but that it’s fun and exciting, and that engineers can change the world.
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March 23, 2017

It had all come down to this. It was crunch time—figuratively, and possibly literally, if their bridge built as part of the Engineering Open House (EOH) Middle School Design Contest collapsed while being tested. For weeks, three teams of eighth graders from Next Generation School (NGS) in Champaign had been designing bridges—building their prototypes, testing them, working out any kinks. Finally, Saturday, March 11th, the day of the contest, had arrived. With their fingers crossed, each team eagerly watched Illinois engineering students attach a bucket to their bridge then slowly fill it with sand. The idea was to see how much sand could be added before their bridge buckled. And whether they won an award or not, they’d learned a lot: about teamwork; about the engineering process; and what being a Civil Engineer might be like.
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March 21, 2017

“Hail to the Orange, Hail to the Roof!” This was emblazoned in bright orange on the front of the blue t-shirts more than 200 local 1st, 3rd, and 4th grade students wore as they invaded Engineering Open House (EOH) on Friday, March 10. They showed up to participate in the Engineering Outreach Society (EOS) engineering contest. Their main goal? To determine how well the house their team had constructed—particularly the roof—would stand up to the test: an avalanche of “hail” stones...
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April 15, 2016

Thousands of guests of all ages flocked to campus on March 11–12, 2016, to attend “The STEM of Innovation,” the College of Engineering’s 96th annual Engineering Open House (EOH). Among them were students from local schools on field trips, including some who showed up as guests of campus student groups, like WIE (Women in Engineering) and EOS (Engineering Outreach Society). Illinois engineering students had done projects with them earlier in the semester then brought them to EOH as a culminating event. Even some former students showed up representing their current companies, like Ford, to try to lure youngsters into engineering…or to entice current engineering students into their company. And of course, lots of Illinois engineering students showed up to strut their stuff.

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April 6, 2015

The thousands of guests who visited campus on March 13–14, 2015, to attend “The Future Starts Here," the College of Engineering’s 95th annual Engineering Open House (EOH), were not only exposed to the many facets of engineering. Staffing the numerous exhibits were eager engineering students on hand to suggest to visitors that engineering at Illinois, and/or some of the technology being presented, could be in their future.
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March 14, 2014

Among the thousands of folks who made the pilgrimage to the Illinois campus to attend "Transform Your World," the 94th annual Engineering Open House (EOH) on March 14 and 15, 2014, were a couple of Springfield, Illinois mothers who wanted to give their sons a little extra exposure to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
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