A hands-on challenge incorporating SimCity 4 with engineering skills

Novo Mondum, a city of the future near Reykjavik, Iceland, constructed by students from Bexley Middle School in Ohio, won the grand prize at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition™, sponsored in part by the National Engineers Week Foundation. Initially, more than 30,000 students from 1,100 middle schools entered the competition. After qualifying rounds in each of 38 regions across the country, one middle school from each area competed in the finals of the 17th annual competition, held in Washington, DC, February 17-18, 2009.

The Foundation’s goal is to increase students’ “understanding and interest in engineering and technology careers” and “promote pre-college literacy in math and science.” The mission of the Future City Competition (futurecity.org) “is to provide a fun and exciting engineering program for seventh and eighth grade students that combines a stimulating engineering challenge with a hands-on application to present their vision of a city of the future.” Each year’s competition is based on a different topic. The 2009 theme was to create “a self-sufficient system within the home that conserves, recycles, and reuses existing water sources.”

There are several components to the competition. Each team is comprised of three students (an unlimited number of students can work on the project, but only three can present it), a teacher to help oversee the project, and an engineer from the community to act as a mentor. Students are required to design a computer model of their Future City using SimCity 4 Deluxe (Electronic Arts) simulation gaming software. The city must be set at least 150 years into the future and have a minimum of 50,000 residents. Students also must construct a 3-D tabletop model of the city with recycled materials costing no more than $100. A research essay and an abstract written by the students about their city’s key features is required. Lastly, they must give a brief oral presentation and respond to the judges’ follow-up questions.

Phew! Does this sound like a whirlwind yet? It is! But as this year’s first place winner, Bexley Middle School’s Peg Engelhardt, a seventh and eighth grade math and science teacher, states, “the 2009 topic for the competition was already part of the students’ curriculum.” She also indicates that her school is embarking on becoming a STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Math) school in terms of grant funding and is sure that the Future City project will tie in well with that focus. The 2009 second place winner, Shirley Newman, a French and English teacher, has helped teams at St. Thomas More Catholic School in Baton Rouge (LA) participate in the competition for the past ten years. She says that the fact that the school requires general essay writing as a skill for junior high students has helped with the written aspects of the project.

This year, the first place winners received a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, AL, provided by Bentley Systems. The second place winners received a $5,000 scholarship for the school’s technology program sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Making the Future City a Reality

So how does all of this really come together? Let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at some of the winners’ secrets for success. Students taught by Deborah Escobar, gifted education teacher at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland, NY, placed second in the 2008 Future City Competition. When asked about the use of SimCity 4 Deluxe to design a digital model of the future city, she said that “it’s a real motivator to pull the kids into the program initially.” While she had some familiarity with the software prior to the competition, she relied on the students’ expertise to figure out some of the kinks. This approach was echoed by other teachers.

The computer-generated model constructed with SimCity 4 Deluxe counts toward one-fifth of the overall project. This is the first version of the program that uses 3-D graphics. Students have the flexibility with the software to design their land and zone their city into different areas including residential, commercial, or industrial. Some teachers expressed frustration at the program’s clunkiness and difficulty to navigate. Sometimes running the software in the school became an issue because of slowness, and teachers had to bring in laptops. While some troubleshooting help is available to the project participants, they often have to solve problems on their own.

Research and annotation skills are integral to the project. St. Thomas More’s Shirley Newman may be a bit of an anomaly compared to the academic focus of other teachers who are leading Future City projects, but she provides her students with the foundational skills of writing and information gathering that are necessary to the project. She has noted a marked improvement in the essay and research skills of students who have participated in the competition.

The research component of the project may include analyzing what structures seem most valuable for the city or identifying what futuristic energy sources will be used. Over the course of completing the project, the team improves their search strategies and learns how to articulate the reasons behind the design and function of their futuristic city.

The engineer mentors and students’ parents were cited by all of the teachers as driving forces behind the projects. The technical advice and resources offered by the engineer is a critical component of the team effort. Newman initially had some difficulty finding an engineer mentor after Hurricane Katrina because most were focused on pressing projects in the community, but lucked out when they were able to enlist the help of Ricky Lee of SEMS, Inc. Peg Engelhardt recalls that a parent volunteered to drive the city model to DC from Ohio because a previous model that was sent via plane was severely damaged in transit.

Support from the school administrators is integral as well. Everything from supporting the time commitment (between 100 and 200 hours) to garnering local publicity for the school’s participation is important. Providing space in classrooms or closets to collect materials for the model is also necessary. Engelhardt, like other teachers participating in Future City, has what she calls a “junk room.” Since the model has to be made up of recycled materials, it’s helpful to have at least a few shelves in the school as a collection point. Anything from pencil shavings, bubble wrap, gel pens, and fast food toys quickly become coveted objects for the live model.

Words of Advice

If you think your school might be interested in pursuing the Future City Competition, here are a few words of advice from the veterans.

• Begin early. The topic is announced online (futurecity.org) in August.
• Be aware of the time commitment involved. It is a very time intensive project, especially as competition time approaches. While only three students are can give the oral presentation, others can be involved in the behind-the-scenes activities such as developing the real or computer model. Each student will have varying expertise. Bringing it all together is the key to a successful venture.
• If possible, have another teacher on board for backup in case the lead teacher is unavailable at any time.
• Don’t be intimidated if you don’t have the answers to everything. The project is designed to draw on community resources and to allow the strengths of the students to contribute to the project.
• Have the students present their project in front of the school if possible. It will excite interest and it’s great practice before the actual competition.
• Have fun! It is worth all the time and the effort when everything comes together.

For information about all the 2009 winners and to sign up for the 2010 competition, visit futurecity.org. The teachers mentioned here would be happy to answer any questions: Peg Engelhardt (Margaret.Engelhardt@bexleyschools.org), Shirley Newman (shirleyn@stmbr.org), and Deborah Escobar (escobard@guilderlandschools.org).