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[music] Narrator: You've probably

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heard the word "engineering" before, and you've probably been told it's pretty important.

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But what exactly is engineering, and who exactly is

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an engineer? Engineers are people who design and build things that we use

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every day. However, they don't just go building the first thing that comes to mind.

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They work hard to make something we NEED, and they want to do a good job of it.

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So, how do engineers decide what they need to build? Well, in most cases, they

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start with a question. Here's an example: Say you live on a space station,

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and something outside breaks. Obviously, you need to go outside

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and fix it, but how exactly do you do that? That's a

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great question for engineers. Once they've got a good handle

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on things, they'll start imagining ways to solve the problem. They'll

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come up with all kinds of ideas, and some that might even seem a little...

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...crazy! That's important because sometimes the craziest idea

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is the one that works best. After coming up with these ideas, they'll

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pick a few that make the most sense. Next, they'll start drawing a plan.

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Depending on the idea, the plan can be very simple...

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...or very complicated. But the important part is the plan itself.

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A good plan helps engineers focus on what they're making--and most

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importantly, why. Now, the engineers

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get to have some real fun. They get to create something.

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It's important to stick to the plan, though, so the idea doesn't go too far off-course.

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Once they've built it, then they have to test it! Experimentation

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is very important because it's here that engineers learn

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what works, and, well...what doesn't. And while it's great when something

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goes right on the first try, it's actually good when things don't,

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because that gives engineers a chance to go back and improve on their original idea.

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And improve they will...until they've solved the problem. So, the next time

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you've got a problem to solve, whether simple or complicated, there's probably

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a team of engineers ready to create something to solve it. And

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nobody solves engineering problems quite like NASA.

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[music, kids cheering]

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