WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Building parachutes, rockets and optical sensors are just a few of the activities Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has planned for students across the country as it kicks off its nationwide celebration of National Engineers Week (Feb. 16-22). The weeklong festivities will showcase the positive impact of engineers on society and bring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to life for tomorrow's workforce.

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"In celebration of National Engineers Week, we hope to inspire the next generation of innovators," said Raytheon Chairman and CEO William H. Swanson. "As a technology and innovation driven company that thrives on diversity of thought and talent, we understand the importance of getting our young students interested in engineering."

As part of Raytheon's MathMovesU® education initiative, employees will host live events and hands-on engineering activities for thousands of students nationwide, demonstrating that engineers invent, design and create things that make a difference.

Raytheon is also challenging students to engineer an aspect of their school life – from lunch lines to monkey bars to classroom configuration – describing how they would design it better in a two minute video, for a chance to win up to $2,000 for their classroom. The "Build it Better" contest began Sunday, Feb. 16. More information can be found at the newly redesigned www.MathMovesU.com.

Raytheon has also assembled a toolkit of great resources to help parents, teachers and school guidance counselors talk to students about engineering careers -- including a "10 Reasons to Love Engineering" infographic. The toolkit, along with math worksheets and online learning games, can be found at www.MathMovesU.com.

Highlights of planned activities include:

• Science Thrills Live interactive shows for park guests at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort: Raytheon will celebrate the week hosting Science from Scientists, with scientists demonstrating spectacular concepts before encouraging guests to design and experience their own thrill ride at The Sum of all Thrills™ presented by Raytheon at the INNOVENTIONS attraction. Raytheon employees will be on hand to lead guests in hands-on experiments, sharing their passion for engineering with all.
• MathMovesU Day events at the University of Arizona, the University of Alabama Huntsville and Raytheon's El Segundo, Calif., campus, where Raytheon engineers will guide students through activities like building "galileoscopes" and designing and testing parachutes and straw rockets.
• National Engineers Week "Girl Day" events, including science and engineering demonstrations at The Hall at Patriot Place for hundreds of Girl Scouts from across New England, Girl Power Day in Tucson, Ariz., lab tours and engineering activities for 80 middle school girls in San Diego, and "Shadow an Engineer Day" and lab tours in El Segundo, Calif.
• Discover Engineering Family Day, Feb. 22, at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., where visitors will build mini hovercrafts with help from Raytheon engineers.
• Lab tours and engineering "games" – including electronic disassembly and reassembly, a Lego League robotics demo, and demonstrations of the scanning electron microscope, infrared camera, and tensile tester – for hundreds of students at the company's locations in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Texas.

As part of its National Engineers Week celebration, Raytheon will recognize its engineers for their outstanding contributions to the company's legacy of innovation through a variety of activities, including the Excellence in Engineering and Technology Awards, Raytheon's highest technical honor. Raytheon engineers will also be profiled throughout National Engineers Week on Raytheon.com.

About MathMovesU  
Raytheon's MathMovesU^® program is an initiative committed to increasing middle and elementary school students' interest in math and science education by engaging them in hands-on, interactive activities. The innovative programs of MathMovesU include the traveling interactive experience MathAlive!^®; Raytheon's Sum of all Thrills™ experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot^®, which showcases math in action as students design and experience their own thrill ride using math fundamentals; the "In the Numbers" game, a partnership with the New England Patriots on display at The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon; the company's ongoing sponsorship of the MATHCOUNTS^® National Competition; and the MathMovesU scholarship and grant program. Follow MathMovesU and other Raytheon community outreach programs on Facebook and on Twitter @MathMovesU.

About Raytheon  
Raytheon Company, with 2013 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 92 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 cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.

Media Contact
Raytheon Company
Tina Martineau
+1.781.522.6490
corporatepr@raytheon.com  

SOURCE Raytheon Company