Four Future City teams at Decatur schools headed to state competition
Dec. 5—Judges on Monday evaluated Decatur students' visions for cleaner and more sustainable cities of the future, and four of the teams will advance to the state Future City competition in January.
Bomb City from Decatur Middle School; Hawanah from Austin Middle; and Austin Junior High's Acernus and Nova Stella teams, who were tied in scoring, will all present their projects in Auburn.
Each of the 12 teams in the competition had to write a 1,500-word essay, present their model to judges during which the students answered questions about it, and present a project plan.
Kelan Robinson and Emmett Miller, eighth graders on the Acernus team, said they felt confident their presentation and essay helped them earn their tie.
The 12 model cities presented at the competition were set 100 years in the future and students constructed them with recyclable materials while considering the issues modern cities face, like pollution and overpopulation.
The teams used a variety of energy sources to power their cities and chose locations for the cities all over the world — and beyond.
"In 100 years, the climate change and pollution is too much so it was better we move to Mars rather than continue living on Earth," said eighth grader Tristin Stanley of Austin Junior High.
Stanley's team, Nova Stella, constructed its city within the Hellas Planitia, a large crater on Mars. He said the team utilized solar, geothermal and wind power as energy sources.
"Most of the people living in our city are scientists, but some are rich tourists," Stanley said. "That's how we get most of our money."
For food, the students built two hydroponic farms enclosed in small domes.
Several judges walked through the gym at First Baptist Church where the cities were displayed. One of the judges, Nathan White, said he expected creativity and clear explanations of why students chose their specific power source and how it will affect the environment.
"Any model that doesn't have education, transportation, health care — any major integral piece that's missing will be significant in how we judge," White said. "Of course, all of the cities are going to be different, but there are certain basic needs they need to have that's necessary for every city."
After judges examined the models in the gym, students were required to take their model to another panel of judges in a separate room for the formal presentation.
Student Xania Earskin from Austin Junior High and her team presented "Hydroponia," a city they built in Venezuela near Angel Falls, the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall. The team capitalized on the waterfall by using hydroelectric power.
When asked about their teamwork and how duties were assigned, Earskin admitted they had a hurdle to overcome.
"We had a lot of people come and go from our team, so we had to divide up the roles a little bit more," Earskin said. "Basically, we decided who had the most strengths at certain things. People who are more creative worked on the model and people who are better at reading and writing wrote the essay."
Originally, judges were supposed to select three teams to advance to the state competition, but the two teams from Austin Junior High tied.
"It's evident that one team did better on presentation and the other did better on the model and that just interchanged," said Lindsay Sims, a judge in the competition and a gifted specialist with Decatur City Schools.
This was the first time the Decatur school district hosted a Future City Showcase for its schools. Sims said this competition gives students more preparation for the state competition, so they know what to expect ahead of time.
"I just think, too, that all of their projects deserve to be showcased," Sims said.
Bomb City also received the student choice award, which is based on teamwork. The best name award was given to Nova Stella and Donnerland and the sportsmanship award was given to Turkey Town.
The state competition will be held at Auburn University on Jan. 20.
— wes.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
