During the week of February 17-18th regional finalists from all over the country converged on Washington DC to compete in the Future City National Finals Competition. "What is Future City" you ask? It is a part of National Engineering week held annually in Washington DC, an event you have to see to believe. For Future City National Competition the aim of this multiple day event is to pick the best engineering solution to a problem posed to the teams. This year's theme was water management and sustainability so there was a definite aquatic theme to the presentations made by the students on each team.
To understand just how intense this event is, Future City teams are required to produce the following:
* Computer design of Future City using SimCity software. * A physical model of their Future City (25"x50"x20") costing less than $100US to build (including additional materials such as costumes, flip charts, etc.) They are required to have at least one moving part in the model which was often used to good effect. I like the fact that they can't use Jello in their models, gee I wonder why? * A 500 to 700 word research essay describing their solutions to the primary problem. * A 300 to 500 word design abstract
At the competition, the students also must participate in an oral presentation to judges at the various regional events culminating in a rigorous series of heats while being judged by engineering professionals in the finals.
As mentioned, the theme for this year's competition was water use, system sustainability and self-sufficiency, a pretty heady topic to research and solve even for a professional engineer. Remember, these are middle school students! As someone who has actually been a special jurist in the regional event in Philadelphia I can tell you these kids have spent an incredible amount of time and effort both on their models and the research that goes into them. Seeing them go through the paces at the Nationals just goes to show you that middle schoolers have the right stuff to enter the design and engineering fields.
As with any large and intense event like this, the teams were very focused on their tasks. I had the opportunity to meet with several of the teams as they waited their turn in the judging arena. As part of Bentley's extensive support of this event, a screensaver was created showcasing all of the finalists' Sim City models which were presented one-by-one on a computer display at the Bentley table. As teams viewed the screensaver, I was impressed by how they studied not only their own creations but intently reviewed their competition's entries and what they did right and what they could have improved upon. Now, that's dedication!
Note: if you are interested in downloading the screensaver yourself, visit the Be Careers Network home page and click on the Future City screensaver Download button.
So as the competition came to an end on the second day, the moment of truth arrived as the runners up and finally the overall winner was announced. Here are the results:
First place (prize: attend Space Camp in Huntsville Alabama sponsored by Bentley Systems): Bexley Middle School from Bexley, Ohio, project name: Novo Mondum.
The first place winners! Second place (prize: $5,000 scholarship sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)): St. Thomas More School from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, project name: Esperyance Third place (prize: $2,000 scholarship sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA): St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School from South Miami, Florida, project name: Vai Verde Fourth place: Gates Intermediate School from Scituate, Massachusetts, Fifth place: McLean Middle School from Ft. Worth, Texas.
In addition to the main competition, there were 25 special awards given out for everything from Best Indoor Environment to Best Project Plan as well as Best Transportation System. The special award sponsored by Bentley was "Best Management of Water Resources" and was awarded to Veritas Home School from the Future City Arizona Competition.
Winners of the "Best Management of Water Resources" special award presented by Greg Bentley. There is no doubt in my mind that this was a very rewarding event for all of the participants and their mentors. Kudos to all that participated.
If you want more information about this event including press coverage be sure to check out the links below. Future City web site WTOP 103.5 radio station article USA Today article Greg Bentley's keynote presentation video Fox News 5 (Washington, DC) TV clips