We hope 2011 has got off to a good start! Here’s what Young Engineers have lined up for you for the rest of the academic year. Scroll down to read about our competitions, Club Network news and special events to take part in.

Young Engineers K'NEX Stock Clearance!
We have untouched old K’NEX stock which we are selling for greatly reduced prices! There are a number of different kits with large and small component counts, including the specially produced JEB K’NEX Challenge Trainer Kit with over 1,600 pieces and the JEB 2006 Lever and Pulley kit with over 300 pieces. If you would like any more information on this amazing offer please contact the Projects Team on projects@youngeng.org before they all disappear!

STEM CHALLENGE DAYS (age 7-16) - our activities run by our fieldworkers in your school!
Our STEM Challenge Days continue to grow in popularity and we are pleased to welcome Katie Melton, who is joining our team of fieldworkers. Katie is a Mechanical Engineer from the USA who has international experience and who is passionate about inspiring the next generation of engineers.
Our STEM Challenge Days are available to both Primary and Secondary schools and the challenges can be designed to form an integral part of the curriculum demonstrating the many and varied links between and within the STEM subjects and the wider curriculum. “Just thought I would drop you an email to let you know that our STEM Challenge was brilliant again this year. Our support teacher said that it was the first trip that she had been on where ALL the pupils were totally engaged in their activities and she was amazed at the range of resources that they were using to construct their solutions.” Head of Department, UlverstonVictoriaSchool, Barrow-in-Furness.
Our dedicated team have also included some new challenges for both primary and secondary school students.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1260

Competitions 

Junior Engineer for Britain K'Nex Challenge launched (age 7-11)
The 2011 Junior Engineer for Britain Competition is now live! Ambassadors come into the classroom and provide an introduction to engineering by setting a challenge that must be solved using K’NEX. Winners go onto compete at further levels both locally and nationally.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=67

Project Eggs Factor - Flight of the Quail (age 7-19)
Captain Egg returns to Project Eggs Factor and brings Lt Oeuf (his younger cousin) to pilot the eggsciting new challenge. This year we challenge you to design and build an air transport mechanism to fly a quail egg for the furthest distance. Captain Egg is looking for you to use biomimicry to design an efficient air transport mechanism that uses at least 50% recycled or reclaimed construction materials. Again, we want video footage of the flight so that we can post it to the Egg Leader Board and just maybe your flight will win you fabulous prizes.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1060

Young Engineer for Britain Competition (age 12-19)
Any student working on their own innovative, creative or novel inventions in either club time, part of the curriculum or as a hobby can gain important recognition for their project as they compete for some absolutely fantastic prizes and awards. Deadline for entries: 31st May 2011.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=66

The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust Engineering Experience (age 16-19) 
Selected students take part in a 3-4 day intensive engineering, social and cultural experience visiting international industrial facilities in October 2011. The selection process is simple and is good university/job application practice. The six finalists are selected by telephone/video interview.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1178

Other Competitions
For all other Young Engineers Competitions, please keep checking our website for updates when latest competitions will be available.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=54
Club Network members can also have a look at the competitions listings on the Support Pages.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=61

 Club Network

Clubs - download our NEW Start Smart activity programme (age 11-16)
A new activity programme, Start Smart, has recently been launched!
Start Smarthas been developed as an introduction to the fascinating and inspiring world of smart materials. Club members get to experiment with the materials and discover their properties; it also encourages them to use their creativity to come up with innovative applications for each material. The five types of smart materials that are introduced in this programme are:
* Hydrogel
* Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC)
* Thermochromic materials
* Smart alloys
* Photochromic materials
The whole booklet can be downloaded from our    Complete Activity programme webpage.

The Big Bang Fair - date for your diary (age 9-18)
Taking place at ICC London ExCeL on 10-12 March, this high profile and free event promises to wow students with experiments, explosions, simulators and shows; give them the opportunity to quiz scientists and engineers about their jobs and discover a dream career; meet students from around the country and find out about the amazing projects they have brought to display as well as seeing cutting edge technology from many leading companies and get some great teaching ideas. We are also helping to plan a series of STEM related Teacher CPD opportunities which will be publicised once we have the full details.
http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk
Come along and see the best Young Engineer for Britain projects on display alongside a great selection of projects from our Young Engineers Clubs.

National Science and Engineering Week 11-20 March 2011 - date for your diary
Are you planning your activities for NSEW? If you are looking for ideas, why not search through the Activity Bank? Use the ‘Activity Length’ filter to give you ideas for the time slot you have available.
http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=138

Regional Big Bang Fairs
Get your students involved in your local event as competitors, showcase your STEM club or simply bring a group to take part in the STEM activities. Go to http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/map.cfm to find out the location, dates and the contact details of your nearest event organiser.