Students aim to make the world a better place

SANDPOINT — Since the start of the school year, more than 100 local students have been designing cities with the purpose of answering one question — How can we make the world a better place?

That question is the starting point for the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students participating in the Future City competition. Kids across the country participate in the Future City competition and this year's topic for all teams is the "power of public space."

Although Future City has been a national program for 25 years, Dinah Gaddie has been heading the local program for three years, which she started at Washington Elementary with one team. Now at Sandpoint Middle School, Gaddie teaches Future City as a regular class along with 3D printing, robotics and computer science. Participants include SMS students and sixth-graders from Washington Elementary.

"I really have a passion for the fact that these kids are going to be our future leaders," Gaddie said. "I believe in showing them what they are capable of and them having a ton of experiences so that when they do make those choices, they know what they want."

Gaddie said "application education" helps kids understand their strengths and weaknesses, and instead of being spectators they are participating in what is going on around them.

The 21 Sandpoint teams have been narrowed down to six and will compete today at Sandpoint Middle School for the chance to attend the regional finals in Boise on Jan. 21. Last year, a team from SMS made it to the finals in Washington, D.C., which are held in February.

SMS eighth-grader Kate Bokowy has participated in Future City all three years and was on the team that made it to nationals last year. She hopes her team will get the chance to compete again this year. She said her team did "really bad" on their essay in Boise last year, so she wants to compare it this year to see how they have improved.

Future City is designed to teach kids 21st century skills using math and science concepts, as well as writing, public speaking, problem solving, proposing solutions and learning how their communities work. Some of the students proposed solutions like solar power and solar roadways, one group placed soup kitchens and homeless shelters around their city so everyone can feel "safe and welcome," along with many other ideas and solutions. 

Kate said no one aspect of a Future City is as important as the overall engineering process. Several other students also said engineering was the biggest takeaway of participating in the project.

"We are thinking about what we want to do after high school and after college, and this project really focuses on engineering and that's a big prospect for us," said SMS eighth-grader Jett Lucas. "We are always thinking, 'I could be a mechanical engineer, or I could be an electronic engineer;' this just really helps us see things that we could do in our future." 

Seventh-grader John Keegan added that teamwork and leadership is a big part of the project. Other students like Elli Warren, Kaylia Ratigan, Max Thielbahr, Alia Schmitt and Felicity Lally agreed that engineering was key, but also said it helps with things like social skills, project research and how important public space is.

"It really helped me learn how the world actually works with cities, and how we could help other cities become better with our ideas," Felicity said.

During their presentations, each groups has seven minutes and then three to five minutes to answer questions.

"There is a suggested list of questions, but the kids have to be prepared to answer anything," Gaddie said. "They have to literally think about all of the pieces that go into play. How does your city fund this? What are they doing with their garbage? How are they dealing with power sources?"

At regionals, the groups present their solutions to making the world a better place through a virtual design using SimCity, a 1,500-word essay, a scale model, a project plan, and a presentation to the judges.

"One of my favorite things is when we do the virtual city," Gaddie said.

She said the students have a lot of control over their city services and because they want lots of money, one of the first things they often do is raise the taxes. The virtual residents get mad and leave or burn down buildings, so the students dramatically lower the taxes leaving no money for schools or hospitals.

"So they get this appreciation that we do have to have this balance — everything in moderation," Gaddie said.

Information: futurecity.org.