WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) will celebrate National Engineers Week Feb. 14-20 and promote innovative ways to teach math and science with a series of interactive and hands-on events for middle school students across the country.

Raytheon employee volunteers will host a series of fun-filled demonstrations using fundamental engineering and mathematical principles at the company's exhibit in INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The activities will take place during the week from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sum of all Thrills™ experience and are aimed to help spark students' interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects.  

Hundreds of employee volunteers will showcase "engineering everywhere" at other events across the nation as part of Raytheon's commitment to spurring interest among middle school students in math and science through its MathMovesU program.

"National Engineers Week allows us to recognize the important contributions of past and current engineers while reaching out to the next generation of engineers," said William H. Swanson, Raytheon Company Chairman and CEO. "I know that many of Raytheon's engineers share their passion for their profession with young students through a variety of volunteer and outreach programs; these efforts are an investment in our future."

In addition to the demonstrations at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®, there are more than 25 events scheduled this week, including:

Arizona

On Feb. 15, more than 150 local students will visit Raytheon's Tucson facility to tour the business product model showroom and take part in an interactive, live liquid nitrogen demonstration. On Feb. 20, Raytheon will host its first Scout Day for 300 local boy scouts, girl scouts and scout leaders. Approximately 75 Raytheon employees will assist scouts in completing merit badge workshops in engineering, electronics, space exploration and radio. Each scout will work on one badge during the day-long program.

Washington, D.C.

On Feb. 20, Raytheon will sponsor "Discover Engineering Family Day" at the National Building Museum where guests can become creative inventors, engineers and mathematicians for a day. The event is a free, drop-in program for children ages 5–13.  

New England

The "Science of Sports" partnership between Raytheon and the New England Patriots strengthens as 50 Raytheon employee volunteers continue to make weekly visits to 20 teams of kids at 12 Boys & Girls Clubs in Billerica, Dorchester, Lowell, Lawrence, Roxbury, Marlborough, Framingham, Waltham and Woburn, Mass.; Nashua, N.H.; and Pawtucket and Newport, R.I., to encourage youth to explore math or science through sports.

Raytheon engineers in Tewksbury, Mass., have been gearing up for National Engineers Week by providing tours, demonstrations and presentations to local high school students. Meanwhile, girls from Lincoln Middle School were treated to a visit at Raytheon's Portsmouth, R.I., facility where hands-on learning, lab work and laughter were the highlights of the day.

On Feb. 19, middle and high school students will receive a tour from Raytheon engineers at the company's Andover, Mass., campus.

Texas

On Feb. 17, Disney Imagineer Eric Goodman and Engineer Jerold Kaplan of the Walt Disney World® Resort will visit the Plano Center to introduce more than 100 high school students to the world of engineering. Raytheon will incorporate innovative challenges from the company's latest sponsorship of Sum of all Thrills™, an interactive, math-based experience located at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., to teach students about the joys of engineering. Awards will be given to students who come up with the most innovative robot designs for military, homeland security and civil service.

Meanwhile, engineers from Raytheon's Garland facility will be attending Southern Methodist University's "She Networks, She Wins" event to mentor and inspire more female students to become interested in engineering and related fields.

California

On Feb. 15, Mark Skaggs, "Farmville" co-creator, and Laird Malamed, "Guitar Hero" architect, at Raytheon's El Segundo facility, will engage 250 middle school students in a hands-on demonstration on how math and science are used to create their favorite games. Following the presentation, the students will have the opportunity to take part in a "Guitar Hero" challenge, putting their math skills to the test.  

The morning's activities include Lego League robotics demonstration, an exhibit by the Traveling Space Museum (including "Space Toilet," "Hoover Craft," "Moon Boots," "Lunar Roving Vehicle" and "Motion Sym") and MATHCOUNTS competition. Teachers will also take part in an in-service training session focused on math and science.

In Goleta, numerous student and employee activities will be held throughout the week. Highlights will include Raytheon lab tours for students of University of California at Santa Barbara, Los Ingenieros, Society of Women Engineers and Santa Barbara City College's Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement. Raytheon Goleta volunteer employees will also visit Mountain View Elementary School to host the 7th annual "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day."

On Feb. 15, Raytheon engineers from Fullerton will also introduce visiting middle school girls to engineering. The girls will have a chance to show off their STEM skills in a pinewood derby with words of inspiration from National Hot Rod Association junior drag racer Lizzy Halley, who will be there to rally them.

Colorado

On Feb. 17, Raytheon's Aurora site will host six teams of sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Mracheck Middle School for an egg drop competition, which will be sure to make learning about gravity both messy and fun.

Maryland

On Feb. 17, Raytheon's Towson facility will host students from the Science & Math Academy at Aberdeen High School for a mentoring luncheon. Their team of Raytheon mentors will be with them to tout the success of the mentoring program to fellow Raytheon employees.

Mississippi.

On Feb. 18, students from local high schools will visit Raytheon's Forest facility.   Students will participate in a series of activities focused on science, technology, engineering and math presented by Raytheon volunteers.  

Nebraska

On Feb. 18 and 19, seven Raytheon engineers from Omaha will visit students at the Our Lady of Lourdes middle school to talk about weather, storm chasing and software engineering. These engineers will also pay a visit to seventh graders at the Saint Joan of Arc middle school to explain the science behind tornadoes.

Indiana

On Feb. 16 and 17, Raytheon will host aspiring engineers from Churubusco, Elmhurst and Northrup high schools and Concordia, Jefferson and Portage middle schools. Raytheon will also welcome engineering honor students from Purdue University for a tour of the Fort Wayne facility.

Florida

Raytheon engineers from Florida will visit area middle schools throughout National Engineers Week, armed with lesson plans and exciting experiments to ensure students have fun while learning. The electronic snap kits are hands-on exercises that allow students to build circuits while learning the principles of electronics and how components like resistors, capacitors, switches and motors work. In addition, the lesson plan teaches them about different jobs at Raytheon such as test or hardware engineers, program managers or "NoDoubt™ Quality Assurance" specialists. Raytheon has also asked a few high school robotics teams to stage competitions in the Bardmoor facility to share the excitement and enlist Raytheon engineers to coach even more teams next year. Raytheon currently sponsors and coaches nine teams in the area.

Pennsylvania

On Feb. 19, Raytheon will host 30 students from State College Area High School for an engineering challenge. Details of the challenge are being kept secret to ensure that no student gains an unfair competitive advantage.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

www.raytheon.com

    
    
    Contacts:
    Jennifer K. Chan                  Tim Inthirakoth 
    Raytheon Company                  InkHouse
    781.522.5112                      781.791.4554
    jennifer_k_chan@raytheon.com      tim@inkhouse.net

SOURCE Raytheon Company