Naval Facilities Engineering Command Far East is scheduled to celebrate National Engineers Week, Feb. 20-25, by partnering with local Yokosuka base school engineering clubs for activities and tours.

The 2017 theme for National Engineers Week is "Dream Big."

"We have a lot of engineering challenges that require us to 'dream big,'" said Commander, Navy Region Japan Regional Engineer Capt. Kevin Bartoe, "including support of the next generation of warships, building facilities for our service members and their families, and working with our host-nation partners to enable security in the Indo-Asia-Pacific."

Big engineering challenges for NAVFAC Far East include preparing naval installations to receive new warplanes and the next generation of warships. The command is also supporting Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) with designs for a new, modern high school facility and Child Development Center.

"It's an exciting time to be an engineer here," said NAVFAC Far East Chief Engineer Russ Mattson. "We have more than 200 engineers working on big projects in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory. This includes a variety of engineering disciplines like civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, and environmental and architectural."

"This week is a great opportunity to share our passion with the next generation of engineers," continued Mattson. "We're going to take local students to some of our facilities that show how engineering helps our everyday lives, and we're also going to compete with the students in two classic engineering challenges -- tower design and the egg drop."

The egg drop challenge requires teams to make a device from materials such as construction paper, plastic straws, and bubble wrap to protect an egg from a three-story fall. The event will take place at CFAY's Yokosuka Middle School parking garage at 3 p.m., Feb. 22.

For the tower challenge, participants will build a bridge from wooden coffee stir sticks, chopsticks, and glue. The tower must meet certain dimensions, and the design capable of holding the most weight will win the challenge. The competition will take place on the second floor of CFAY's Purdy Gym at 3 p.m., Feb. 23.

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For more news from Naval Facilities Engineering Command, visit www.navy.mil/.