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Check out the YouTube video of this year's Engineering Open House.

For the students and faculty of the College of Engineering, it takes some creativity, a little talent, and considerable determination. To demonstrate the best of Engineering at Illinois, Engineering Council presents the 89th annual Engineering Open House "Unlocking Potential." From the four-story Concrete Crusher to Eye Mouse to a special presentation by Mythbuster host Grant Imahara, there's something for everyone to enjoy and learn.

The event will be held on the College of Engineering campus on Friday, March 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and continuing through Saturday, March 14, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

As the largest student run event at the university, Engineering Open House (EOH)serves as a showcase that opens the doors of the engineering buildings and labs to approximately 20,000 visitors each year. EOH is free and fun for all ages, with simple hands-on experiments demonstrating the latest advanced technologies from research labs and classrooms.

Exhibits are the hundreds of hands-on demonstrations and presentations of engineering showcased to all of the visitors of EOH. Some of the classic exhibits include the Concrete Crusher, Laser Etching, and Association for Computing Machinery exhibits.

The most anticipated event is a presentation by Grant Imahara from the Science Channel's "MythBusters," at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13, in the Foellinger Auditorium. Once an animatronics engineer and model-maker for George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, Imahara has credits on movies such as Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Terminator 3, Matrix, and most recently, Van Helsing. His own self-designed and -built robot was ranked number one in Season 3.0 on Comedy Central's "BattleBots."

Grant’s book Kickin’ Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots is also regarded as the bible for combat robot-building enthusiasts. Free tickets may be picked up from the ticket booth near the Grainger Engineering Library during EOH.

Every year, Engineering Open House features design contests for middle school, high school, and college level students. Come and watch high school students build a Rube Goldberg Machine on Friday at the Campus Recreation Center East (1102 W. Gregory Dr., Champaign); middle school kids launch their ping-pong systems on Saturday at the Digital Computing Laboratories (1320 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana), and college students combat in the heated Jerry Sanders robotics battles both days at the Kenny Gymnasium Annex (corner of Wright St. & Springfield Ave., Urbana).

This year, the Beckman Institute Open House (405 N. Mathews, Urbana) will be held in conjunction with Engineering Open House, and will feature more than 30 exhibits highlighting the work taking place at one of the nation's leading centers for interdisciplinary research.

Visitors to Beckman will come face-to-face with unexpected and unusual items in an experiment meant to test people's unrehearsed reactions to product design, or they might get lucky enough to have their name spelled out in atoms using a powerful microscope that can shape atoms into letters. Many exhibits will demonstrate the birth of new technologies at the Institute, such as an inexpensive dipstick sensor that could revolutionize chemical testing and medical diagnostics.

Stop by the Visitor’s Booth Tent (west of Grainger Engineering Library) and grab a Visitor’s Guide so you can start your day of wonders and explores. If you can’t quite decide where to go, join a student-guided tour. Prospective college students or interested parents may also attend the Dean's Presentation followed by a Question & Answer panel in the Everitt Laboratory on Friday and Saturday.

Ready to see the latest technology? What about MyCampus—an iPhone and iPod Touch application to guide yourself around any campus? Or the Eye Mouse—an already commercialized equipment that allows the user to control all the functions of a computer mouse simply with the direction of his/her eye gaze? And Michelson Interferometer? It can detect movements less than the width of a hair.

Area 51, located between the Everitt Laboratory and Engineering Hall, will provide live music and food for the public during the hours of operation. Free parking will be available in Lot E-14 on Kirby Ave. and First St. in Champaign, west of the Assembly Hall, with free shuttle bus service throughout the day.

Further information concerning Engineering Open House can be found at http://eoh.ec.uiuc.edu.

Contact: Ann Pan, external publicity director, EOH, 217/244-3828.

If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.