The engineering industry is facing a severe shortage of skilled young talent. In an attempt to fill open positions and careers, the Mother Daughter TEA event exposes girls to the engineering industry and the skills involved. Local students from the nearby and surrounding communities are invited to participate in this one day event.

The Day's Structure
After an introductory orientation, mothers and daughters are grouped into teams with other girls to apply the skills, tools and imagination required to become a successful engineer. Participants discover the many dimensions of engineering that are available and its vast career opportunities. The Mother/Daughter TEA event successfully engages young women and presents options for transitioning into challenging classes and life-changing pursuits.

During the first half of the event students are presented with fun information and hands-on activities familiarizing them with team building and engineering concepts. Midway through the event, lunch is served. During the second half of the event, more hands-on activities and group projects are introduced. At the end of the event, participants are given promotional take-aways and prizes. An event evaluation can be filled out at the end (or during lunch) by participants.

The coordination of a session leader and volunteers in order to provide fun and interesting activities for a large (typically about 60- 80 persons, including parents/guardians) amount of participants can be overwhelming. For a first-time event, you may want to begin planning several months in advance.

• For participants to increase positive feelings about engineering and technological careers;
• To further develop their problem-solving skills (especially those involving hands-on building and spatial visualization);
• To become familiar with women’s contributions to the world of engineering; and
• To help participants see how engineering is one of the best ways to help people, promote a healthy environment and make a huge contribution to society.
  

Hold a Mother Daughter workshop at your location.

Bring the Mother/Daughter Workshop, facilitated by Celeste Baine, to your location. Celeste Baine is a biomedical engineer, the author of over 20 books on engineering education and careers, and the director of the Engineering Education Service Center based in Eugene, Oregon. She was acknowledged for her outstanding accomplishments in motivating and inspiring students to pursue careers in engineering. Winner of the Norm Augustine Award, Ms. Baine is credited for being an outstanding contributor to the nationwide efforts to increase engineering student enrollment.

The day includes:

1. All materials needed to engage no more than 40 mother/daughter teams in hands-on engineering activities for the entire workshop. These activities parallel real-world engineering tasks and problem-solving opportunities. Activities are customizable but usually include solving problems, building tabletop hovercrafts, designing towers or helmts and placing a band-aid on a Whale.

2. A take-home engineering project for each girl.

3. An engineering T-shirt for each girl.

4. A copy of Ideas in Action: A Girl's Guide to Careers in Engineering for each girl.

5. Teaching Engineering Made Easy Resource Kit for each teacher (up to four). By using this powerful teaching kit, teachers will have an instant library of curriculum, career resources, classroom strategies, and inspiring information at their fingertips. This kit also gives classroom teachers an easy and dynamic way to meet curriculum standards and competencies. The lessons and activities will actively engage students in learning about engineering and our technological world by applying creativity and innovation as they complete the projects. Coupled with professional development, many teachers will enjoy teaching engineering because it combines math and science lessons, team building and creativity with a practical twist. Students learn to work together, increase their communication skills and enhance their presentation abilities.