When I Grow Up

Priyadarshini Gogoi

When I grow up,
I will build many things.
Big and small things.
Wild and amazing things.
I will use science
to build them all.

First, I will build a bridge. After that, I will build a very tall tower. And then, I will build the longest road
in the world. It will start at my room
and go right up to the moon!
When I build these structures,
I will be a civil engineer.

I will build engines too.
Some engines will be in rockets
and some will be
in planes.
The plane will take us from country to country and the rocket will fly us all the way to Mars.
My Anaideo* will come with me on all my trips!
When I build flying engines,
I will be an aerospace engineer.
*Anaideo means grandmother
in Assamese.

I will build a vehicle that travels under the sea.
It will be made of steel and aluminium,
and it will be very fast. We will swim
with the fishes, sharks and whales.
Anaideo will say, “Slow down, Papori!”
But secretly, she will love it too.
When I build my submarine,
I will be a marine engineer.

But I won’t stop at that.
I will produce electricity from small particles.
One tiny particle will light up our whole village.
Anaideo will be so happy that she will throw a big feast!
When I make power like that, I will be a nuclear engineer.

I’m not done yet!
Next, I will build a robot.
Her name shall be Gogo.
Gogo and I will have many adventures.
We will paint the walls and do the dishes.
We will catch Anaideo many, many fishes!
When I build my robot,
I shall be a robotics engineer.

Gogo and I will build a firewall.
It will guard computers and the Internet
from bad guys trying to steal other people’s secrets.
I will be like a superhero! Anaideo will be so proud.
When I protect the Internet,
I will be a cybersecurity engineer.

I will build a machine to clean the sea.
And another to clean the air.
The animals will be healthy
and people will breathe easy.
I will save the earth
with my machines!
When I make machines
to clean the planet,
I will be an environmental engineer.

I will build a new ear for Pempem
(she lost it in a fight... grrrr).
Then I will build a new set of teeth for Anaideo.
Finally, I will build wings for me!
When I build artificial body parts,
I will be a biomedical engineer.
And I will soar over the
world
looking for more things to build.

Engineers Build Our World
Engineers make, plan and design the world around us. They build computers, machines, structures and materials
that make our lives easier. Who built the television in your home? The cars and buses on the streets? The X-ray machines
in the hospitals? They were all planned and built by engineers.