Future City is a hands-on cross-curricular educational program presented by DiscoverE that brings STEM to life for students in grades 6–12. Future City starts with a question: How can we make the world a better place? To answer it, students use the engineering design process and project management skills to imagine and build cities of the future that showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue.
Future City has something for everyone—teachers, students, and volunteer mentors—working as a team to bring their vision to life. Each team must have three student representatives, one educator, and one mentor. While most regions welcome teams larger than three students, only the three official student representatives present the team and answer questions at the competitions.
Educators serve as program leaders who guide the team members through the project–based learning experience, helping them tackle a relevant citywide sustainability issue as they imagine, research, brainstorm, design, and build their cities of the future. The work is entirely student-led, but the program leader keeps the team on track, uploads deliverables, and offers feedback and guidance.
Volunteer mentors work alongside the educator/program leader and act as coaches and role models, share real-life STEM experiences, offer technical guidance, and help translate academic concepts to the real world of engineering and city design. Mentors might be engineers, technicians, urban planners, project managers, architects, or undergraduate or graduate students studying a related field.
After four months of researching, designing, and writing up their solution to a citywide issue, and building a scale model of their city, teams present their vision to a panel of judges. At the conclusion of the competition, student participants are not only prepared to be citizens of today’s complex and technical world; they are also poised to become the drivers of tomorrow.
Important Dates at a Glance
Middle School
May: Educator/ Program Leader Registration opens
August: Future City Handbook is released / Mentor Registration opens
September: Future City Teams kick off their projects
October: Future City Teams research, design, build their models; Judge Registration opens; Educator/Program Leader Registration closes
January: Student Representatives present at City /Regional Competitions
February: National Competition takes place in Washington, DC
High School
July: Coach and Student Registration opens
August: Future City Handbook is released
September–December: Future City Teams research, design, build their models, and write an essay describing the unique attributes of their city and their solution to the challenge
January: Virtual Qualification Round occurs
February: In-Person Finals take place in Washington, DC
Details on team packages, scholarships, and prizes for the upcoming competition will be released soon.