Welcome!
Welcome to the Washington (Seattle) Future City Region!
The mission of the Future City Competition is to provide a fun and exciting educational engineering program for sixth, 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.
This will be accomplished by:
- Fostering engineering skills, such as teamwork, communication and problem solving skills;
- Providing interaction among students, teachers, and engineer mentors;
- Informing the community about the multi-disciplines within the engineering profession;
- Inspiring students to explore futuristic concepts and careers in engineering.
The National Engineers Week Future City Competition requires:
- Problem-solving
- Team work
- Research and presentation skills
- Practical math and science applications
- Computer skills
Regional Overview
The Future City Competition is a national program sponsored by the engineering community to promote technological literacy and engineering to middle school students. The program was founded in 1992 with a regional program being run in the State of Washington since 2001. The local Regional Competition is organized and managed by a local steering committee and supported financially by local sponsors.
The program fosters an interest in math, science, and engineering through hands-on, real world applications. The competition is open to all public, private, home, and parochial schools. The Regional Finals of the Future City Competition are held in January every year. The National Finals of the Future City Competition are a featured event during National Engineers Week, with students from across the country competing in Washington, D.C. The winning team from Washington State Regional Competition will advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C.
Washington Teacher / Mentor Workshop
Specific information about our Washington Region – our regional competition format, time lines, details on the competition deliverables and guidance on using the handbook and Future City Website. Please note our timeline and deliverables are preliminary. Follow the links below to download the slide decks.
The Challenge: Design and Build a Future City
The solution includes developing a project plan, a team-made physical scale model, an essay, a narrative, and an oral presentation.
Students can still explore building virtual city using SimCity software. SimCity codes available upon registration
1. City Essay – Due 12/15/23
Students describe the unique attributes of their city and provide a solution to this year’s challenge: Choose a climate change impact and design one innovative and futuristic climate change adaptation and one mitigation strategy to keep your residents healthy and safe.
(1,500 words maximum)
Late submittal: by Jan. 3 – 5 point deduction. by Jan. 9 – 10 point deduction.
2. Project Plan – 4 Deliverables
Students complete a Project Plan to help them plan and organize their work. They use it throughout the project.
11/3/2023 Set Goals
11/17/2023 Create a Schedule
12/15/2024 Conduct Check-in Sessions
01/12/2024 Reflect on the projectl
3. City Model – Due 1/20/2024
Students build a physical model of a section of their city using recycled materials. In addition to showcasing their city of the future, the City Model must also show the team’s solution to this year’s challenge and include at
least one moving part.
4. City Presentation & City Q&A – Due 1/20/2024
Students conduct a 7-minute in person presentation about their future city and their solution to the challenge.
Students participate in person 10 minute question and answer period with the judges. We are hopeful this will be done in person.
Competition Day
Regional Competition Date: January 20th, 2024
Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Avenue North
Shoreline, WA
Competition Guidelines
- Teams representing the school at the regional competition will consist of three students (must be from the same school), an engineer-mentor, and a teacher sponsor.
- Each registered school may bring up to 5 teams to the morning preliminary competition on competition day.
- The students, with the help of the engineer-mentor and teacher sponsor, will design the logical model of the city using SimCity.
- The team will construct a scale model of the city section using recycled materials (plastic jugs, glass jars, aluminum cans, tubing, etc.) in their designs. The model must be no larger than 25″(w) x 50″(l) x 20″(h).
- Visual aids (flip charts, foam boards, poster boards, etc.) must not exceed the following size limits:
One visual aid displayed at a time can be up to 60″(w) x 36″(h)
Two visual aids displayed concurrently can each be up to 30″(w) x 36″(h). - The model must contain at least one moving part. Power sources must be self-contained (no external powerplugs).
- The students will write a city description (1500 word maximum) explaining their solution to a specific engineering or design challenge.
- The students will explain the unique design features of their city design during team verbal presentation.
- The total cost of all materials used to make the model and any materials used in support of the verbal presentation may not exceed $100 (cash or in-kind). No laptop computers of videos can be used for the presentation.
For more specific information, please see the Official Competition Rules in the Future City Competition Handbook.
School Organization – Multiple Teams
sEach school is encouraged to involve as many of their 6th, 7th and/or 8th grade students as possible. For example, an entire 6th, 7th or 8th grade classroom of students may work as a group to complete one set of the project deliverables (essay, physical model, oral presentation). Alternatively, small groups of students may take on several sets of the project deliverables. There is a section in the Future City Handbook called “Organizing Your Students” that has a good explanation of various ways to involve your students.
If your school is working on several projects, make sure all the deliverables are submitted by the appropriate deadlines so that they get scored by the judges.
Depending on our team numbers, registered schools may bring 3-5 teams to represent their schools at the regional competition. If your school starts out with more than 3-5 teams, you may have an intermural competition to decide which teams you are actually going to bring. Team counts are evaluated in December.
If you have specific questions regarding how to work with multiple teams or involve your entire class, contact your Regional Coordinator.
Mentors Needed
Virtual or On-site Mentors Welcome
Are you a professional in the world of engineering, architecture, city planning, technology or a related field?
The Engineeer Mentor is a critical member of the Future City team. The mentor can be an engineer, of any engineering discipline. They are involved in all phases of the competition as an advisor to the team, providing input and technical assistance, integrating real life engineering experiences as the students work on the competition.
If you are interested in becoming an engineering mentor for one of the Future City teams, please contact our Mentor Coordinator, Sarah Davis.
Judges Needed
Virtual or On-site Judging Opportunities Available
The Future City Dashboard – Competition Management System (CMS)
The CMS system is used for recording all the scores. All judges will be required to create an account on the CMS system. This can be done by registering here. There are three different types of judges; Essay, Model/Presentation, and City.
City Essay Judges
- City Essay Judges are needed to score the city essay. This can be done from the comfort of your own computer. Once you have created your account in the CMS system and signed up as a “City Essay” judge you will have essays assigned to you to download and grade. The essays are typically assigned on the first week of January. The judges are expected to evaluate the essays and enter the scores back into the CMS system. Please contact Sarah Davis for questions.
- Description: Read and review 8-10 City Descriptions, and score them using the rubric provided.
- Time Commitment: Several hours (between end of Dec. and late January). PRIOR to Competition Day completed ONLINE
- Location: Flexible (you can sign up to judge these no matter where you live)
- Judges Needed: 20+
City Model Judges
City model judges are needed to score the physical 3-D city models. They will evaluate innovation, creativity, aesthetics, workmanship and the use of recycled materials. City Model judging is being planned to be done in person – Sat. Jan. 20, 2024.
- Description: Judge City Models submitted virtually by our Future City teams.
- Time Commitment: Several hours – Sat. Jan 20- AM
- Location: Shoreline Community College
- Judges Needed: 50+
If you are interested in participating in the Future City Competition as a Model/Presentation Judge, please contact our Judging Coordinator, Sarah Davis.
City Presentation and QA Judges
City presentation and QA judges are needed to evaluate the Future City Team’s City Presentations and QA. Judges will score the team’s verbal presentations based on their delivery of the presentation, the knowledge that the students are able to demonstrate, and how well the students work as a team. Judges will score the team’s QA based on their delivery of the presentation, the knowledge that the students are able to demonstrate, and how well the students work as a team. City Presentation and QA between judges and Future City Teams will take place in person and show cases how well the students work as a team.
- Description: Judge presentations put on by the Future City teams on competition day.
- Time Commitment: Several hours – in person – Sat. Jan. 20, 2024
- Location: In Person Shoreline Community College
- Judges Needed: 50+
If you are interested in participating in the Future City Competition as a Model/Presentation Judge, please contact our Judging Coordinator, Sarah Davis.
Regional Schedule
3By October 31, 2023
- Future City Registration should be completed – BUT SOONER IS BETTER!
- Register here »
Friday, November 3, 2023
- Project Plan – Set Goals (Penalty if turned in late)
Friday, November 17, 2023
- Project Plan – Create Schedule (Penalty if turned in late)
Friday, December 15, 2023
Note – essay submittal is due before Winter Break to help our teams and judges manage their time.
- Project Plan – Conduct Check In Session (Penalty if turned in late)
- City Essay (1500 words)
- 5 pt deduction for submittals by Jan. 3, 2024
- 10 pt deduction for submittals by Jan. 9, 2024
Friday, January 12, 2024
- Project Plan -Reflect on project
- Team Confirmation
- Competition Expense Form
- Honor Statement
- Media Waiver Form
Saturday, January 20, 2024
- Morning – Preliminary Round each team presents twice
- City Model
- City Presentation and Q&A
- Afternoon – Guest Speaker, Awards and Finals
Sponsors
Gold Sponsors ($2000 – $4999)
Puget Sound Energy is Washington State’s leading energy utility, providing electricity, natural gas and a range of energy related services to homes and businesses throughout the Puget Sound area
Silver Sponsors (up to $1999)
International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE Seattle Metropolitan Chapter) is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1990. INCOSE is an international authoritative body promoting the application of an interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems
Become a Sponsor
Engineers from Washington State have made the decision to support this annual Future City Competition. As volunteers, engineers will share skills such as teamwork, problem solving, communication, writing, and applied math and science with students as they solve a real-world problem. A partnership between the engineering societies, the corporate community, and the education communities is essential to achieve our goals.
Your company or organization is invited to be a partner with us in this effort. Following are various levels of participation that are offered:
Platinum Level Sponsor ($5000 and above)
Gold Level Sponsor ($2000 to $4999)
Silver Level Sponsor (up to $1999)
All moneys collected will be used for the Washington State Competition. Administration of funds will be in accordance with IEEE policies and procedures. In the United States, the IEEE is an organization qualified under Internal Revenue Code 501c3 and donors are eligible to make tax-deductible contributions as provided in section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Our Committee
Karen Pavletich (Regional Coordinator)
Steve Cresse (Treasurer)
Sophie Pavletich (Publicity)
Karen Pavletich (Teacher / School Advisor)
Stacia Lesser / Carina Pham (Competition Day Coordinators)
Ken Pavletich (Photographer)
Sarah Davis (Judging Coordinator)
Jeanne Harshbarger (Judging Coordinator)
Carl Buher (Scoring Co-Coordinator)
Colin OBrien (Scoring Co-Coordinator)
Louis Tibbs (Scoring Advisor)
Lindsey Pavletich – (Awards / Prizes)
Puneet Janda (Member-at-Large)