The College of Engineering’s annual Engineers’ Week is in full swing across campus.

Engineers’ Week will feature a career fair, free lunches on campus, networking opportunities, sporting competitions and a charity ball.

Engineers’ Week began in 1965 and has run every year since then. This year’s theme is “Giving Imagination Direction”.

The festivities kicked off Friday, Sept. 20, with a senior visitation which had 405 attendees.

Later that evening, a picnic was held and guest speaker Travis Taylor gave a speech and demonstration at Stephens Auditorium.

Taylor is known for his show “Rocket City Rednecks” on the National Geographic Channel and his engineering demonstrations.

“He works with his hands and knows his stuff,” said Jacob Mazanec, one of the event organizers.

During his presentation, he showed clips from his show and performed interactive experiments for the audience.

Past speakers at the kickoff have included Bill Nye the Science Guy and Grant Imahara of “Mythbusters.”

Engineers’ Week is organized entirely by students from the department and is run by student volunteers.

Making up the executive committee are 40 students along with other students serving as ambassadors for the week. Students look forward to getting to know companies, finding internships and just having fun all week.

“I like how you can go to all the booths around campus,” said Katelyn Emig, senior in mechanical engineering. “It’s nice to go around and talk to all the companies.”

On Saturday, Sept. 21, engineering students were invited to partake in flag football and ultimate frisbee, along with dodgeball on Sunday.

The teams were determined based on major, and points were awarded to the winning major in each event. At the end of the week, the major with the most points will be awarded with a trophy and the participants will be given prizes.

There will be tents and tables set up throughout the week where students will have the opportunity to win free gifts and buy charity ball tickets along with Engineers’ Week T-shirts.

More events will be continuing on into the school week, beginning on Monday with a luncheon provided by Buffalo Wild Wings. There will be a nail-hammering relay, a paper airplane contest and a wing-eating competition.

There will also be professionals on campus along with a panel later in the evening.

Tuesday, the College of Engineering will host a career fair at the Hilton Coliseum and the Scheman Building where students will be able to speak to a number of companies. The career fair will last from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

A charity ball will be held in the Howe Hall Atrium to raise money for Minds of Tomorrow on Friday evening, Sept. 27. Minds of Tomorrow is a grant program for K-12 schools that introduces young students to core subjects to spark their interest in math and science.

The event will include swing-dancing lessons, free food, a deejay and door prizes. Tickets cost $10 and are available at any of the Engineers’ Week tents throughout the week, or they can be purchased at the door.

“There’s a ton of free food,” said Andrew Hutchinson, junior in electrical engineering. “All the clubs are going to present all the cool stuff they do. The Amazing Race on Saturday should be a lot of fun.”

The week-long celebration will close with team events, the Amazing Race on Saturday and volleyball on Sunday.