Helping Students in North Carolina, Texas Create Resilient ‘Future’ Cities
How do our engineers engage inquiring young minds?
They volunteer as mentors and judges for Future City, an international annual competition that brings engineering to life and teaches students skills that include project planning, modeling, writing and presenting. It’s hands-on STEM in action.
For the third year, Kyle Horsham, Water Resource Design in our Charlotte office, mentored the STEM Skool, Inc., which placed third at the North Carolina regional competition, taking home an $800 prize.
Krista Paredes, North Carolina Transmission-Utilities Team Manager in our Raleigh office, volunteered to help judge the Jan. 25 competition, which drew 35 teams of students in grades 6 through 8 from North Carolina and three from South Carolina.
And Jessica Brown, Water/Wastewater Planning Practice Leader based in Fort Worth, volunteered as a judge at the North Texas regional event, held at Tarrant County College’s downtown campus.
“I’m in shock every year by the innovative approaches these aspiring engineers use in solving real-life problems.”
— Kyle Horsham, Water Resource Design, Charlotte
With the theme “Above the Current,” this year’s competition required students to “design a floating city and provide two innovative examples of how your floating city works and keeps its citizens healthy and safe.”
Through a months-long process, students identify their problem, devise a solution, develop a project plan to stay on schedule, build a scale model of their city using recycled materials, explain their vision in an essay and present their project to a volunteer judging panel of STEM professionals.
Kyle said the STEM Skool’s floating city, named Fuyu Toshi, consisted of renewable energy sources, protection against natural disasters, zoning to support safety and citizen care, and an emphasis on preserving the native cultures of the surrounding area.
“After seeing the projects and hearing the presentations from these talented middle schoolers, the future is bright!”
—Jessica Brown, Water/Wastewater Planning, Fort Worth
Future City has spread across the U.S. and several countries abroad. Some regions also have a “junior competition” that provides opportunities for elementary schoolers.
And a new high school competition challenges student teams to build 3D models using CAD programs. Kyle served as an informal mentor to STEM School’s high school team, which advanced to finals competition in Washington, D.C.