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.
‘Lucy’s Engineering Adventure’ is a powerful tool that can be used to explain what engineers do and get their brains working. Sara polled some volunteers about questions the second graders asked. Some of her favorites included: “What was your favorite subject in 2nd grade?”, “Why did you want to be an engineer?”, “Can you be an engineer if you’re a girl?”, “How does a safety vest keep you safe?”, “Did you build my school?”, and a million iterations of “How do you make ____ (walls stand up/glass/phones/cars)?” Kids are smart. And this experience encouraged them to start wondering who makes all sorts of things. And overwhelmingly the answer is…ENGINEERS!
Ultimately, Sara was able to take a $3,000 grant and turn it into 400 books, donating at least 2 to every school. She then wrangled over 85 volunteers to read at 8 school districts in the Omaha metro area over a 2-week period. The Omaha Public Schools District challenged her to pull off a simultaneous reading for their 3,727 second graders – a challenge which Sara met by coordinating 65 different readers. And in 2024, Nebraska ASHRAE partnered with Omaha Public schools to do a simultaneous reading again!
It takes a village to raise an engineer. Sara is thrilled to have resources through ASHRAE, HDR, and her fellow industry members to be able to make this project happen. In addition, Sara actively supports the local University of Nebraska with her time, welcomes high school and college students for job shadows, and presents to students and high school teachers about what she does and what helps make someone successful in the engineering field. She also makes time to help younger staff, serving as a mentor.
Sara received the Nebraska ASHRAE Ray Dunbar Volunteer of the Year award in part for her ‘Read Across Omaha’ Project. In addition, she helped the Nebraska Chapter receive the K-12 STEM Leadership Award in 2022-2023 and the Region IX Membership Promotion (MP) Chair of the Year Award in 2018.
Sara Robbins, PE, is a mechanical engineer for HDR and 2024-2025 President for the ASHRAE Nebraska Chapter. Heavily involved in ASHRAE, Sara has been part of the Nebraska Chapter since 2016 and has served as an elected member on the Board of Governors for 5 years as President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary and Board Member. Sara serves as a corresponding member on the ASHRAE 2.05 Global Climate Change, the ASHRAE 2.10 Resilience and Security, and the ASHRAE 9.06 Healthcare Facilities Technical Committees. She is also involved with YEA (Young Engineers in ASHRAE) and has received several local recognitions for her work on this project.