PITTSBURGH — Frank Borrelli's three children wanted to go to the Carnegie Science Center instead of the Allegheny Sport Travel and Outdoor show in Monroeville.

"I was kind of surprised," admitted Borrelli of Sarver. "But it's good. They have a head on their shoulders."

He was one of thousands who gathered Friday and Saturday at the Carnegie Science Center to learn about engineering.

About 55 companies, societies and schools set up booths on engineering education to kick off National Engineers Week this week.

On Friday, high school students attended the packed event. The booths on Saturday focused on elementary and middle school students, including Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Booths offered everything from robot demonstrations to lessons on circuit building to simple crafts. Engineers talked to students and guided them through activities.

Students built bridges, flew gliders and controlled remote cars that climbed over a simulated surface of Mars.

Warrendale-based SAE International, a 91,000-member group that hosts conferences and sets engineering standards, was one of the leading sponsors of the event, which is designed to attract students to an increasingly unpopular industry.

"I know from the automobile and aerospace side (of engineering), we're really seeing a shortage of engineers," said Frank Bokulich, an aerospace standards engineer with SAE International.

He said the event especially helps high school students looking at what to study in college.

"They may not know what to do, but they have an interest in math or science," said Bokulich.

According to the National Engineers Week Web site, engineering turns off students because the perception of the field is it is extremely challenging and does not allow creativity.

But creativity is at the heart of engineering.

"People get to use both sides of the brain," said Bessie Jeffries, a math professor at Butler County Community College. "We're getting tired of the same old design, we have to think outside the box."

BC3 had a booth where students could build a car out of Legos, design a new type of paper clip and run a calculator-powered toy car.

"You'd be surprised how many kids are interested in math and science," said Jeffries.

As part of the booth, she gave students a metal wire and tells them to design a paper clip not in the traditional style of paper clips.

"An engineer gets assignments like this," she explained. "You have to make something different."

On Friday, she and other BC3 representatives set up a computer-aided drafting machine that let high school students work with engineering technology.

But Saturday was for the younger students.

"I liked the robotic arms and the K'Nex crane," said Tim Borrelli, 11, Frank's son. He was referring to an electronic crane made from the K'Nex toys.

He definitely wants science to be part of his future. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he did not hesitate to say: "A radiologist."

SAE International, which employs about 240 people in Warrendale, has a department geared toward fostering interest in engineering. They sponsor engineering competitions and events such as Engineering Week.

About 40 companies sponsored the event at the Carnegie Science Center, including ANSYS Inc. and the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania.

National Engineers Week began in 2000 to encourage events in communities across the country. Part of the week is the Future City Competition, where middle school students re-design cities to cope with major problems, such as crime, natural disasters and urban sprawl.