Even a global pandemic couldn’t stop the University of Utah College of Engineering’s outreach team from putting on an exciting, fun-filled (and safe) Engineering Day for hundreds of high school students.

This year’s event, which is the outreach team’s largest activity of the year, was held virtually on Zoom Saturday, Nov. 21, due to the health concerns of the coronavirus. Despite the limitations, the day was a successful virtual gathering for more than 250 students from around the country.

The event included amazing Zoom sessions of engineering subjects from the basics of chemical engineering and the study of human movement, to the fascinating world of video game development. There also were virtual lab tours including chemical engineering’s new Meldrum Innovation Laboratory and a demonstration of the amazing new LUKE Arm, a mechanical prosthetic arm that is powered by a person’s thoughts.

Engineering Day 2020 had to be different in the time of COVID, but it was still a great event for students to learn about the different types of engineering, and they didn’t have to leave home to do it,” said event organizer Morgan Boyack.

This year’s Engineering Day drew students from Utah and other states including California, Idaho, Colorado, Texas and more.

Boyack said that most if not all of the sessions are scheduled to be posted online soon.