July 2012

Engineering Road Trips

BY EVA KAPLAN-LEISERSON

So you've toured the Hoover Dam, walked the Golden Gate Bridge, and scaled the Empire State Building. You've got some vacation time you have to use or lose, and you want to take your family on a fun but educational trip. However, your children and spouse have threatened to hop on the next plane to Disneyland if you make them go look at another suspension bridge. Here are some unique engineering-related trips that the whole family can enjoy.

Kids of all ages will be amazed by the unique sights at Maker Faires. Photo Courtesy of Maker Faire

International
Maker Faire

Take a ride in a motorized cupcake, launch a compressed air rocket, learn to solder, see a giant steel, fire-breathing dragon. This is just a very small sampling of the activities you can enjoy at Maker Faire, the flagship event for engineers, scientists, tinkerers, hobbyists, tech geeks, and arts and crafters.

Put on by Make magazine to celebrate the do-it-yourself "maker" movement, Maker Faires focus on invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. The first one was held in San Mateo, California in 2006; now there are Maker Faires internationally—some official and others homegrown.

Ticket prices vary. http://makerfaire.com/

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The heavy machine shop located in the main laboratory is one of two machine shops on Edison's estate. A second precision machine shop performed more intricate work. Photo  courtesy of Thomas Edison Historical Park

New Jersey
Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Master inventor Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents, a standing record for one person. His estate and outbuildings are now a national park, including his 20,000-square-foot laboratory complex.
On this site, Edison worked for the last 44 years of his life on projects such as his phonograph, storage battery, and motion picture equipment. The complex includes the drafting room where workers drew sketches and blueprints; the stock room, where supplies and materials were kept; and the heavy machine shop, used to create machines that would mass produce inventions.

Here you can also watch the first narrative film, The Great Train Robbery, which was produced by Edison, and stop by the first building for motion picture recording, the Black Maria, which has a roof that opens to the sun.
 
Entrance fee, $7 for teens aged 16 and older and adults.
www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm

Martian Matrix is a four-story space themed play structure. Photo courtesy of Space Center Houston

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Texas
Space Center Houston

Learn about the manned space flight program through exhibits, attractions, and hands-on activities at the official visitors' center of NASA's Johnson Space Center. At the "edu-tainment" complex, you can watch the development of exploration vehicles, learn about what life is like for astronauts aboard the International Space Station, practice landing an orbiter, touch a moon rock, and more. A Kids Space Place includes interactive exhibits and an area where children can command the space shuttle or try out living on the space station.

Ticket prices vary. www.spacecenter.org

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California
Jelly Belly Candy Company Factory Tour

Reader's Digest dubbed this the best company tour in America. On the free 40-minute factory tour, 

For a fee, children and adults can walk onto the jelly bean factory floor and watch the candy making up close. Photo Courtesy of Jelly Belly Candy Company

you can learn how the jelly bean got its name, why it takes up to 21 days to make a Jelly Belly bean, and where the billions of beans produced go. Free samples complete the tour; there's also a Jelly Belly Café that offers Jelly Belly-shaped pizzas and hamburgers.

The company also offers a behind-the-scenes tour for a fee. It provides a deeper education into how the candy is made. After donning a white coat, gloves, and hairnet, you can watch confectioners make the popular candy and taste jelly beans right off the line.

The Jelly Belly University tour costs $47, and children must be at least six years old. www.jellybelly.com

Want more engineering-related road trip ideas? Visit "A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering," brought to you by NSPE and National Engineers Week, at www.engineeringsights.org.

Submit your own ideas for spots to visit or events to attend at pemagazine@nspe.org, and they could be featured in an upcoming issue.