Introducing Engineering at the Elementary School Level—One Book at a
Time
As an ASHRAE member and Mechanical Engineer, Sara Robbins is always searching for ways to introduce Engineering as a career to people of all ages. In 2022, Sara applied for and received a grant from the HDR Foundation to partner with her local ASHRAE chapter to purchase and donate copies of ASHRAE’s ‘Lucy’s Engineering Adventure’. This entailed buying 400 copies of the children’s book and distributing those books to elementary schools around Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
‘Lucy’s Engineering Adventure’ features a young girl going to a construction site with her father and learning about the systems in buildings (the HVAC system is the lungs, the structure is the bones, etc.). Sara’s goal was to create an ongoing opportunity for young children to learn about what engineers do, hopefully sparking their interest in the STEM industry. Sara believes that inspiring children’s interest in engineering-related careers before they are aware of stereotypes as to what an engineer ‘looks like’ can help build diversity in our industry.
But one book added to the school library doesn’t ensure kids will find it. So, Sara also asked the schools if they would welcome engineers to come read the book to classrooms in their schools. The response was overwhelming. Almost all the districts wanted in! But the largest district, Omaha Public Schools, thought bigger. They challenged Sara, and Nebraska ASHRAE, to find readers for a simultaneous reading to second graders at all of their elementary schools! This helped the district accomplish a major goal during their ‘Read Across America’ Week – which happened to be the week after National Engineer’s Week!
It wasn’t easy to find volunteers, but Sara rounded up more than 40 of her colleagues, as well as 20+ volunteers from Nebraska ASHRAE and the University of Nebraska-Omaha Student ASHRAE Branch, to pull off the reading event at all 65 Omaha Public School grade schools - on the same day, at the same time. 
The author of the book ‘Lucy’s Engineering Adventure,’ Danielle Passaglia, attended the same school and program as Sara - the University of Nebraska’s Architecture Engineering Program. When approached for comment, Denise said “Sara is taking what I wrote and putting it into action in the community. I wrote this book as a way to introduce young kids to what I do for a living in a fun and imaginative way and get them excited about the built environment. I hope this book encourages kids to always be curious, always ask questions, and learn something new every day.”
The Omaha Public Schools District posted the following in the school newsletter after the event:
“During Engineering Week 2023, our elementary students had the opportunity to learn about engineering through literacy. Omaha Public Schools partnered with the Nebraska ASHRAE Chapter and HDR. Engineers and employees volunteered to read to our students to promote engineering and science practices related to the book ‘Lucy's Engineering Adventure.’ Each school was able to keep two copies of the book for use in the school library. It was a fantastic day of learning and promoting engineering practices that are critical to learning in school and beyond.”
This event was a huge success. On the big day, Sara’s phone was ringing after she read to her second-grade classroom - before she even made it to her car. People were already clamoring to make this an annual event.