In the year 2115, 100,000 people will live in the city of Recolteville (meaning “city of harvest” in French) located on the New York State shoreline of Lake Champlain. The city uses self-sustaining farming techniques to create food, such as kale and fish, for its residents. The majority of the city runs on environmentally friendly fuel cells and the rest runs on solar power. Residents enjoy the scenic views of the city on a Maglev train and utilize a communication system with hologram technology to bring concerts and sporting events to its entertainment arena.
This is the brainchild of the New Lebanon Junior High School team who took first place at Saturday’s Capital District Future City competition at Proctor’s in Schenectady. The team – consisting of 12 junior high school students and two high school student advisors – scored higher than 24 other teams. They will go on to represent the region in the national competition in Washington D.C., February 14 – 18.
The New Lebanon team began work in September with their teacher Mary-Beth Liles and engineering mentor Caroline Eigenbrodt from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to apply Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills to design a city of the future.
“The Future City competition is STEM education at its best,” said Liles. “These students were knowledgeable, professional and knocked it out of the park!” She added that the experience encourages curiosity in STEM careers.
“Future Cities is fun and you get to hang out with friends while learning a lot about science and environmental engineering,” said one of the team’s student advisors, Kenny Sheline.
This year’s problem outlined the ways in which growing populations mean less acreage for crops and a greater reliance on fossil fuels to ship foods to populated areas. Teams researched urban farming techniques and sustainable approaches to transportation and communication. They then designed a virtual city using SimCity software and used math skills to create a scaled 3D model using recycled materials.
Also part of the competition, students wrote a narrative explaining the features of the city. Three team members, Lydia Loverin, Taylor Robertson and Jiana Darcy, presented the team’s model to a panel of judges and nearly 500 audience members.
In addition to winning $1,500 as the first place winner, the team received $100 for the title of “Best Utilization of Transportation” and $100 for “Most Structurally Sound City.” The money will be used to help offset costs for the national competition.
“We put a lot of hard work into this,” said Loverin. “I am excited and nervous, but D.C. is going to be great!”
The New Lebanon team consists of: Jiana Darcy, Tiffany Eggleston, Briana Lee, Lydia Loverin, Taylor Robertson, Catherine Roden, Brianna Shuhart, Emily Schafer, Sydney Smith and Daniel Truax. Student advisors include Kenny Sheline and Christine Bienes.