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Source:
C.W. Harper, 785-393-9139, Clarence.Harper@Paramics-Online.com
News release prepared by: Leah Nordhus, 785-532-6686, ljn@k-state.edu
Tuesday,
January 16, 2007
FUTURE
CITY REGIONAL COMPETITION COMES TO K-STATE
MANHATTAN
-- Nearly 60 teams of seventh- and eighth-grade students from
across Kansas will participate in a regional Future City competition
Saturday, Jan. 20, at Kansas State University. K-State is one of
38 regional sites nationwide in the competition.
The
event asks students, working in teams and under the guidance of
a teacher and a volunteer engineer mentor from the community, to
design a city of the future and include a plan that helps meet a
particular social need.
"The
Future City competition introduces students to engineering and engineering–related
fields when they are taking the first steps of their future career
path," said C.W. Harper, Kansas' Future City regional coordinator.
"The competition also promotes creative thinking, organization
and teamwork skills that will benefit them in any future they choose."
Students
build their cities first on computer using "SimCity 3000"
software, donated to each school by Maxis, a division of Electronic
Arts, and then in large 3-D scale models. They must write an abstract
describing their city and also write an essay. This year's essay
topic is coming up with an energy strategy to include fuel cell
systems to power a city of the future.
Engineers
and professors from across the state have volunteered their time
to serve as judges for the competition.
"I
had the pleasure to serve as a judge in years past," said Richard
Gallagher, interim dean of K-State's College of Engineering. "I
was really impressed with the quality of workmanship on the students'
models and their poise while making their presentations."
The
public is invited to view the models prepared by all the teams,
as well as the final presentations by the top five teams. The final
round of judging will begin at 1:15 p.m. in Forum Hall at the K-State
Student Union. Presentation of the awards and the announcement of
the winning regional team will be from 2:30-3 p.m., also in Forum
Hall.
First-place
winners will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the Future City
national finals in Washington, D.C., Feb. 18-24, which is during
Engineers Week. The grand prize of the national competition is a
trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.
For
more information about this year's event or to find out about participating
in next year's competition, contact Harper at 785-393-9139 or e-mail
Clarence.Harper@Paramics-Online.com
Information
about the national competition is also available at:
http://www.futurecity.org
Among
the participating schools include:
Dodge
City Middle School.
From
Greater Kansas City: Prairie Star Middle School,
Leawood; Westridge Middle School, Lenexa; Antioch
Middle School, Indian Hills Middle School, Indian Woods Middle School
and Trailridge Middle School, all of Overland Park;
and Hocker Grove Middle School, Shawnee.
Prairie
Hills Middle School and Reno Valley Middle School, both of Hutchinson;
Fairfield Middle School, Langdon; West Junior High School,
Lawrence; Susan B. Anthony Middle School, Manhattan;
McPherson Middle School; Shawnee Heights Middle School, Tecumseh;
Magdalen, Pleasant Valley Middle School and Robinson Middle School,
all of Wichita; and Winfield Middle School.
From
Missouri: Raytown South Middle School.
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