Students envision bright future with city projects
(Courtesy photo) Twelve Sandpoint Middle School students, in three teams, went to the state Future City competition in Boise Saturday. Each SMS team won a special award for their innovative projects, as did two teams from Washington Elementary.
(Photo by MARY MALONE) Eight Washington Elementary sixth-graders and their teachers, Jeanne Warwick, left, and Ann Dickinson, right, traveled to the state Future City competition in Boise last Saturday where the two teams of sixth-graders each brought home trophies from the event.
(Courtesy photo) Washington Elementary sixth-graders participated in the Future City state competition in Boise last week and the "Futuristic Final Four" team won a trophy for Best Innovative Solution for a Small Community. From left: Breckin Nevarez, Emily Ballard, Skylar Karasek and Evan Dickinson.
(Courtesy photo) While in Boise for the Future City tournament last week, the Washington Elementary sixth-grade team, the "Futuristic Four," won a trophy for Best Industrial/Commercial Layout. From left: Lis Fonseca, Ayiana Prevost, Kelsey Cessna and Adeline Henney.
SANDPOINT — After a bit of a traveling mishap that required two sixth-grade teachers to take a late night tour of Boise to get some glue and other supplies, eight Washington Elementary students successfully participated in the state's Future City competition Saturday.
Although the project models were damaged during the plane ride to Boise, the students got them all fixed up for the competition, returning to Sandpoint with awards to show for it.
All eight of the sixth-graders who went to Boise summed up their experience with one word — "awesome."
"And if we were to sign up for Future City next year, it really showed us what we are going to be up to," said sixth-grader Lis Fonseca.
They students also, in unison, told the Daily Bee one thing they all took from the experience — "teamwork."
The competition incorporates all aspects of STEM, which includes science, technology, engineering and math. This year's theme for all participants was the "power of public space."
All Washington Elementary sixth-graders, making up 12 teams, started the project in September, as did Sandpoint Middle School seventh- and eighth-graders. After a local competition in December, the top two teams from Washington, and the top three teams from SMS, competed at the state level.
All five Sandpoint teams brought home awards. Out of 30 teams competing from around the state, only four were sixth-grade teams. Of those four teams, the two from Washington Elementary, the "Futuristic Four" and "Futuristic Final Four," won awards — the similar team names were determined to be a coincidence.
"Of the 20 trophies that were available, we took two of them, so that's something to be really proud of," said sixth-grade teacher Jeanne Warwick.
The "Futuristic Four," including Lis, Kelsey Cessna, Ayiana Prevost and Adeline Henney earned a trophy for Best Industrial/Commercial Layout. The students were required to have a model of their city, a virtual city through the computer program SimCity, a PowerPoint presentation and a 1,500-word essay.
Kelsey said their city included an industrial island located a mile offshore so that it would not pollute the city, which was one aspect of the project the "special judges," who walked around and judged for special awards, liked most about it. Adeline said they also liked their energy concept of an "energizer" that uses sewage and waste, and Ayiana said the judges also praised their transportation concept of a hyperloop and magnetic cars.
"In 100 years, people would be able to travel around the world in four hours with the hyperloop," Ayiana said.
The "Futuristic Final Four" — Evan Dickinson, Breckin Nevarez, Emily Ballard and Skylar Karasek — earned a trophy for Best Innovative Solution for a Small Community.
"Basically, we just explained how our transportation was good for a small community and not a big city," Emily said.
The team's transportation concept included self-driving cars. Evan said the model included a skybridge for pedestrians, which would not work in larger cities as well because it would be longer and more expensive.
The city also included a wave generator, which was an actual moving part in their model. Emily said the wave generator resembled a floating snake. It was cut into segments and when a wave passed by, the segments would rub together to create energy.
The students all worked with circuits, taking apart things like Barbie vacuum cleaners and remote control cars. The first step, back in September, was to take a trip around Sandpoint and visit public spaces, looking at the design and layout of the city with a focus on zoning areas, building architecture, sidewalks, parks, the Sandcreek Byway and City Beach. They visited the Solar Roadway site, which gave them some ideas for their projects as well.
The kids said their trip around the city, as well as a field trip to Montana helped "a lot" with concepts for their projects.
"Greenfields, greyfields, public spaces — I had no idea what any of those were," Emily Said.
The SMS students also brought home three special awards. The team of "Richberg" were awarded the Most Multi-Modal Transportation Network for a city transportation network that best uses two or more transport modes to complete a trip, including public and private transport with transfers.
The "Fremtidens By" team won Best Futuristic City for use of futuristic engineering concepts into city communications, energy and transportation.
Last but not least, the "Capitol City" team took the Surveyor’s Choice award for a design that employs the best land surveying practices to include layout of the streets, understanding elevation relief of their city, and fundamental properties of measuring.