Competition Overview

Future City is a competition for middle school students to compete against their peers from different schools and different regions by exploring their creative and innovative imaginations to design their city of the future. Students will learn how to apply math, science, engineering and technology to develop a realistic future community and compete for regional prizes, including a trip to Washington, DC to compete in the National Competition.

Each team consists of 7th and 8th grade students who are interested in math, science and engineering. At the regional competition in January, only 3 students will be able to present materials, but there is no limit on how many students may work on the entire project through the year. The team will work together along with the teacher and engineering mentor to:

• Use Sim City Software to design a logical computer model of their futuristic city.
• Build a physical model of their city using creative materials such as recycled goods.
• Demonstrate their writing skills through and essay and abstract:
  • writing about an assigned engineering design problem.
  • explaining features of their Sim City computer design.
• Develop a team presentation on the physical model.

Competition Deadlines

• Computer City Submittal Deadline - Wednesday November 25th, 2009
• Essay & Abstract Submittal Deadline - Wednesday January 6th, 2010
• City Model and Presentation - Saturday January 16, 2010

Benefits  For Students

	Students better understand practical applications of math, science, social studies and computer learning as they plan their own cities
	They have fun working with SimCity software (provided free to registered schools)
	Teams work with engineers assigned to support their learning
	While learning about cities, students develop a project plan, work in teams, write an essay about their city, develop a scale model with recycled materials, and make an oral presentation of their work at a regional competition on January 2010.
	One team wins a trip to compete at Nationals in Washington, D.C., in Feb. 2010.

Many engineering societies, government organizations, and business entities will present "Special Awards".  Special Awards are presented based on criteria established by the sponsor.  The recipient team will receive a $50 savings bond and award plaque to each team member (maximum of three per team).  Starting this year the winning team will receive a team plaque to display in a common area of the winner's school!  See a list of Special Awards and criteria for the 2009 Chicago Regional Competition.

For more information or to receive information about signing up for the competition, contact
Don Wittmer at 312-930-9119 or dwittmer@hntb.com.

Competition Publications / Handouts

• Teacher/Volunteer Handbook

• Judges Manual

• Engineer-Mentor Manual

• 2009/2010 Future City School Registration Brochure

Additional Resources

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• SimCity 4 Manual

• SimCity 4 Software Requirements and Purchase Information

• Future City Tutorial Videos

• National Standards

Competition Day Info

Competing teams and judges should arrive by 7:30 a.m. to set up and get instructions.

Students -  You will be given a number when you check in. All teams will stay with their models throughout the morning judging.  We will be doing the preliminary judging on one side of the room while the Special Awards judging takes place at the other side of the room at the same time.  This will give them more time to see the models and talk to the students.  The teams will have time to take breaks when they are not participating in the preliminary judging in the morning.  

Each team will be judged twice by two separate teams of judges.   After the four rounds of judging occur (two for the odd numbered schools and two for the even numbered schools), the top 5 teams will be announced.  These teams will then compete in front of a new set of judges. 

Parents, Teachers, and Mentors - The day of the competition will be a fun day for the students.  They work very hard to get to this competition.  We ask that during the judging you stay off to the side and remain quiet.  We understand that you want to coach and take pictures, but this often interferes with the actual judging and may cause a judge to miss critical information the students are relaying. 

            7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.       School’s arrive, register and set up (Donuts, juice and coffee will be provided)

8:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.        Judges have a chance to get an overview of all models.  No judging will take place then.

8:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.       All Schools come to stage for instructions to the teams

8:30 a.m.                            Schools return to their models.  Special Awards judging begins

8:40 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.       Schools 1 - 9 judged (Schools assigned number at competition)

9:25 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.       Schools 10 - 18 judged

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.   Everyone gets a much needed break

10:25 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.   Schools 1 - 9 judged

11:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.   Schools 10 - 18 judged

12:00 p.m.                         Top 5 schools announced

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.     Lunch (Pizza and drinks will be provided for your school team (5-6 people))

12:25 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.    Top 5 schools judged on stage in front of everyone

2:05 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.       School Recognition, Raffle Prizes, and Special Awards presentations

 2:50 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.      Speakers & Announcement of winning team.