Popular media should play a major role in the solution to the problems outlined in the previous section. The majority of the public's information about science and technology currently comes from television and the Internet. Television is cited as a source of science and technology information more than twice as often as newspapers, and more than ten times as often as either books or family and friends [3]. This trend is frightening to many, but it is a reality to be acknowledged as we seek solutions to problems related to public perception. Because television has such a broad reach and deep influence on our culture, it is a powerful means to improve the engineering pipeline. In a session of U.S. Congress on national competitiveness, the Dean of Engineering at MIT, Tom Magnanti, was asked by U.S. Representative Tom Price what could be done to inspire students and ignite a "spark" in our culture. Magnanti replied "You may be familiar with the television program `L.A. Law.' Somewhat facetiously, I suggest that we need one called `Detroit Manufacturing.' We need some public expression that celebrates math, science, and engineering in a way that young people find exciting" [13].

While Dean Magnanti imagined an engineering-related program for adults, we propose that even more leverage is possible with younger audiences. The idea of reforming children's programming was called for by the National Academy of Engineering: "Saturday morning television, movies, and other popular media should be strongly pursued to incorporate engineering, math, and science messages. The full resources of the engineering profession...should be brought to bear on this action" [14].

In response to the problems described here, and in response to the calls for action by various leaders, the authors and their collaborators are now developing a children's television program about engineering. This show will probe "under the hood" of modern technology, reach a broad audience, and present an image of engineering as enjoyable, accessible, creative, humane, socially relevant, and personally fulfilling.