Rockwall students win regional FUTURE CITY prize

Rockwall home-schoolers head to Washington D.C. for Nationals

ROCKWALL (February 10, 2014) Each January thousands of middle school students across the nation build physical models, write detailed essays, hone live presentations and program digital prototypes that represent how they imagine innovations changing the cities we call home.  Three Rockwall seventh-graders (Kyle Fletcher, Faith Mitchell and Nicole Bruner) representing H.E.A.R. Rockwall Homeschool, won first prize in the regional Future City Competition, earning them a spot among 34 finalists heading to Washington D.C February 15-18.  The competition included more than 60 teams and was hosted at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The Future City Competition is a national, project-based learning experience where students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade imagine, design, and build cities of the future. Students work as a team with an educator and engineer mentor to plan cities using SimCity™ software; research and write solutions to an engineering problem; build tabletop scale models with recycled materials; and present their ideas before judges at Regional Competitions.  Sponsors for the competition include a wide range of engineering specialists ncluding corporations such as DiscoverE, Bentley Systems, Shell Oil Company and Electronic Arts.

The theme for the 2014 competition was “Transportation.” The winning entry showcased an integrated solution that includes Solvoches  (cars that fly and drive), solar roads and NPNT (Nano-technology for positioning, navigating and timing).  They named their city “Eisenhower” in tribute to the U.S. president who implemented the national interstate freeway system during the 1950s.

The winning team expressed appreciation to teacher Linda Fletcher and designated engineering mentor Mary Jo Marvin for guiding them to victory.

Story and photos submitted by Olivia Bruner. 

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  Future City Competition, H.E.A.R., HEAR, home school, nationals, Rockwall