News Release
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January 11, 2006
Middle Schoolers to Compete in Idaho Regional Future City
Competition at Boise State on Saturday
Seventh- and eighth-grade students from schools stretching from Ontario,
Ore., to Rathdrum, Idaho, and Salt Lake, Utah, will build 3-D cities of the
future Saturday, Jan. 14, at Boise State University as part of the Idaho
Regional Future City Competition.
The competition runs from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Student Union Jordan
Ballroom, and is open to the public. Preliminary judging is 9 a.m.-noon and
finalist judging is 1:30-2:45 p.m, followed by an awards ceremony.
The National Engineers Week Future City Competition, now in its 14th year,
asks middle school students to create cities of the future, first on the
computer and then in large tabletop models. Students, working in teams with
a teacher and volunteer engineer mentor, create their cities using the
SimCity 3000 videogame. They also write a city abstract and an essay on
using engineering to solve an important social need. This year�s theme is
creating an engineering feasibility plan for a specific redevelopment area.
The winning team from Saturday�s competition will have travel and lodging
expenses paid to compete in the National Engineers Week Future City
Competition Finals in Washington, D.C., Feb. 20-22, during Engineers Week.
National grand prize is a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.
Numerous other prizes are also awarded at the regional competition. The
National Engineers Week Future City Competition is held in 33 regions with
30,000 students from more than 1,000 schools participating.
Judges for the finals round include Boise City Council member Elaine Clegg,
Meridian Mayor Tammy DeWeerd, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
Director Toni Hardesty, Idaho Department of Transportation Director David
Ekern, City of Boise City Engineer John Tensen and Micron Director of
Strategic Communications Trudy Sullivan.
The regional competition is sponsored by Boise State�s College of
Engineering, the Idaho Society of Professional Engineer, Micron Technology
Inc. and the Southern Idaho Section of the American Society of Civil
Engineers.
The National Engineers Week Future City Competition is sponsored in part by
Engineers Week, a consortium of professional and technical societies and
major U.S. corporations dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated
future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in
engineering and technology careers among young students and by promoting
pre-college literacy in math and science. Engineers Week also raises public
understanding and appreciation of engineers� contributions to society.
Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, it is
among the oldest of America�s professional outreach efforts.
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Contact: Leandra Aburusa-Lete, College of Engineering, (208)
426-4432, laburusa@boisestate.edu
or William H. Holder, Idaho Regional Coordinator, (208) 573-3327,
whholder@terracon.com
Media contact: Janelle Brown, University Communications, (208)
426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher education in
Idaho with about 18,600 students and 2,200 faculty and staff. More than 190
undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and technical degrees are offered within
eight colleges. A metropolitan university located in the capital city, Boise
State is committed to life-enhancing research, teaching excellence and
public service.
The Office of Communications and Marketing
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Boise State University
1910 University Drive -
Education Building, #726 -
Boise Idaho 83725-1030
208-426-1577
(fax)208-426-4001
email communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007