Schools

Middle Schoolers Invited to Register for Future Cities Competition

In addition to student teams, the competition needs volunteers judges and mentors.

Registration for the Regional Future City Competition, open to Michigan public, private and parochial middle schoolers, as well as homeschooled students and organizations such as the Girls and Boy Scouts, closes Oct. 31.

More than 35 schools have already signed up to participate in the competition, which will take place Jan. 27, 2014 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

In its 19th year, the Future City Competition, organized by The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD), is a nationwide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)-related program that challenges 6th, 7th and 8th grade students to envision a city 150-plus years into the future. This year’s theme is “Tomorrow’s Transit: Design A Way To Move People In And Around Your City.”

Students develop a computer model, write an essay, build a physical model, and then present their creation to professional judges during a daylong competition.

The winning team will go to Washington, DC, in February to participate in the national competition with teams from throughout the country.

In addition to schools, ESD is still looking for volunteer engineer mentors to serve in the classrooms, as well as judges. Mentors serve as team advisors and advocates for all phases of the program and provide valuable input and technical assistance. Individuals with technical, engineering or architectural/urban planning backgrounds are preferred.

Judges are also needed to serve on all or some of the following phases of the program:

  • SimCity Designs: Judging in December and early January. A training session will be provided in late November.
  • Essays and Narratives: Judging in mid-December. No advance training is required, but detailed instructions will be provided.
  • Models and Team Presentations: Judging at the Jan. 27 competition. The training takes place at 7:30 a.m., with judging from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
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For more information about Future City, please contact Allison Marrs, 248-353-0735, ext. 121 or amarrs@esd.org, or visit esd.org


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