There is only one weekend a year when the University welcomes more than 20,000 people to experience the thrill of engineering. With over 230 exhibits ranging from Newtonian fluid demonstrations to concrete crushing, the Engineering Open House is nowhere near the mediocre science fair you’re used to.

This free student-led event takes place Friday and Saturday. It showcases the talent and creativity of engineering students and brings together students, faculty and corporate sponsors to feature cutting-edge innovation in science and technology.

“This year we are making (EOH) bigger and better. We are bringing in an exhibit on the James Bond movies,” said Anna Delheimer, historian of the EOH. “The ‘Q’ Jet Boat will be here from the movie ‘The World is Not Enough’ and the Jaguar form XKR from ‘Die Another Day.’ It is going to be an epic EOH!”

This year’s Friday night event speaker is Danny Forster, host of Discovery Channel’s ‘Build It Bigger.’ He will be discussing his interest in architecture and how it closely intertwines with engineering. Tickets to hear Forster speak are free and will be distributed at the EOH Visitors Welcome Center on Friday.

Following Forster’s presentation is another stimulating addition to this year’s event, the Tesla Coil Concert, which will be held on the Grainger Quad at 9 p.m. The concert will use two seven-foot coiled towers to play music using loud zaps emitted by pulses of electricity.

“Regardless of what your major is or what you are interested in there is an exhibit for everyone,” said Steven Marks, director of Internal Marketing at EOH. “(Grade school and high school students) get a firsthand look at some University projects and (EOH) gives them a better idea of what they may be interested in studying one day.”

Elementary students who complete the Discover EOH! scavenger hunt will earn a special EOH prize. Middle and high school students can also participate in design competitions.

There are 15 awards given at EOH, including prizes for the Grade School and High School Design Competitions and the Jerry Sanders Competition. Other awards include Go Green, Best Presentation of Society and EOH Theme of Dream.

“Over 30 engineering alumni return every year to help judge on Friday morning. Then trophies are engraved overnight and presented at the Knight’s Ball on Saturday Evening,” said Meagan Musselman, director of Judging and Awards.

To make guests’ experiences more enjoyable, a new EOH mobile app provides descriptions of each exhibit as well as the ability to rate the exhibit from your phone. The app is free for anyone to download.

Bigger and better is hard to do since the EOH is the largest event of its kind in the country. Planning for EOH takes one year and starts right after the current event has ended.

According to Delheimer, this year is the 92nd annual EOH organized by the Engineering Council and the College of Engineering. In 1906, the first Physics Open House was held and evolved into the first regular all-engineering open house in the spring of 1920.

“Not only will you learn a lot about the world of engineering, you can experience the passion and effort that goes into the student projects that are exhibited during EOH,” said Stan Chang, director of the event. “It is an experience second to none.”