Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Registration is open for the 2018-2019 Future City competition! This is a national competition for middle school students to imagine, research, design and build cities of the future.

Future City allows students to showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue. The theme for this year’s competition is Powering Our Future. “Teams will design a resilient power grid for their future city that can withstand and quickly recover from the impacts of a natural disaster,”  according to the Future City website.

Teams of three or more students, an educator, and a mentor will participate in five areas of competition. The areas include a virtual city design (using SimCity), a 1,500-word city essay, a scale model built from recycled materials, a project plan and a presentation to judges at regional competitions in January.

Teams that win their regional competition will receive a free trip to Washington D.C., where they will compete at the national competition. As the grand prize, national winners can win a trip to Space Camp and $7,500 for their school’s STEM programs. Cash prizes are also awarded to second, third, fourth and fifth place.

This competition is a great way to get middle schoolers involved in hands-on STEM activities and teach them how to think like an engineer. By applying math and science concepts to real-world issues, students learn more about how communities work and become better citizens.

Registration closes October 31, so don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity! Check out Future City’s website to learn more and register today.