This special issue of "Advances in Engineering Education" explores recent developments in P-12 Engineering Education. It includes papers devoted to research and practice, and reports some of the most exciting work in the field today. In our Call of Papers, we solicited two types of papers: Research papers and Practice papers. The former would include research on P-12 student learning and on teacher education and professional development. The latter would focus on innovative practice by teachers and/or by engineers and university programs. However, papers in both categories had to be true "advances" with an applications orientation. We anticipated a few dozen submissions and a quick review process. We were surprised, delighted and overwhelmed by the response; we received over 60 abstracts by the deadline and several appeals after it. The first round of reviews narrowed our pool to about 30 authors who were asked to submit full papers for review. When the 14 final papers were accepted, we worked with the authors to adapt their articles to the unique features of AEE--in particular, its on-line presence and multimedia focus. In this introductory essay, we provide a look at the emerging field of P-12 Engineering Education; indicate why precollege outreach is necessary; review the history of the field including the roles of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and reflect on where we are now and how the field may develop in the future.