"Engineering is Elementary" is a program that many Twin Cities elementary schools are adopting.

The program uses an engineering-infused math and science curriculum as well as storybooks featuring kids from around the world who are faced with problems that engineering can help solve. In the books, students are challenged to solve the problems the characters face, introducing engineering concepts and terms to the students in the process.

Here are descriptions of a few of the books from the website of the Museum of Science in Boston, which developed the EiE program:

YI MIN'S GREAT WALL

"Yi Min, a young girl living outside of Beijing, China, has a problem. A hungry bunny has started munching on the plants in her classroom garden. A trip to the Great Wall of China inspires Yi Min to enlist the help of her friend Chen in building a Great Wall of their very own. ... Yi Min begins to explore the properties of earth materials, and she realizes that not all materials are created equal when it comes to building a wall. ... Readers are invited to create and test a wall made out of earth materials."

TEHYA'S POLLUTION SOLUTION

"While taking photos along the Elwha River, Tehya and her friend Sam make a scary discovery. There is oil coating the surface of the river. ... The Elwha River is extremely important to the ecosystem in Washington State, where Tehya lives. The river and the rest of the environment also hold special meaning for her and her family, members of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe. Tehya and Sam decide to help with the oil spill cleanup. ... Readers are encouraged to design and improve their own process for cleaning an oil spill."

KWAME'S SOUND

"Deep in the rain forest of Ghana, young Kwame follows his father ... an acoustical engineer working with research biologists who use sound to track elephants' movements. Kwame, who is blind, journeys with his father to check the technology used to record the varied sounds of elephant life. When Kwame 'sees' how these elephant sounds are represented, he gets an idea that will help him solve his own problem: communicating his original drumming rhythm to his cousin in a far-off village. Readers are invited to create their own visual representations of a sound."

Source: www.eiestore.com/storybooks.html