On the stage of the Phoenix Multicultural Academy in Detroit, stood the leaders of the city together in support of one of the boldest initiatives undertaken by The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) and its institute: Future Detroit.
On Tuesday, November 9, 2010, Charles Pugh, Detroit City Council President; Anthony Adams, President of the Detroit School Board; Norma Hernandez, Principal of the Phoenix Academy; along with representatives from ESD and ESDI, challenged participants to envision and build a city in which they would like to live in the year 2150.
“I love the City of Detroit like everybody in this room, but to envision the city of Detroit far into the future is something we really our young people to do,” said Mr. Pugh.
Future Detroit is part of the Michigan Regional Future City Competition administered by ESD for 16 years. With the support of leaders around the Detroit area, including members of the city council, the mayor’s office, school board, civic, corporate, foundations, academic, and others, ESD will have 6th, 7th, and 8thgraders compete in creating Future Detroit using the proven national Future City program that engages children from around the country. This competitive event will be capped with a collaborative symposium in which Metro Detroit area students participate in a Institute symposium to envision their city of tomorrow.
“Future City allows Detroit students to believe they have a future, to design and develop that future, and to take ownership of that future,” said Brenda Grafton, ESD’s Future City Liaison to the schools and a 37 year Detroit Public School teaching veteran.
The Future City Competition challenges students to design a city of the future and have fun doing it. This program was designed to promote technological literacy and engineering to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. The program fosters an interest in math, science, and engineering through hands on, real world applications and helps students better understand the practical applications of mathematical and scientific principles.
The winning team from Michigan will get to go to Washington, DC, in February to participate in the national competition.
So far, 51 schools from throughout Michigan, including 24 from Detroit, have joined the competition. Students will get to show off their models and compete against each other on January 31, 2011, at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan.
Become a Judge
The 2011 Future City Competition has almost double the schools participating, so your help in judging this year’s models and essay is crucial.
Judges are asked to draw on their expertise and resources to fairly evaluate the teams’ efforts. Judges are needed for the final two stages of the competition: the essays and the final competition on Monday, January 31, 2011, at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to play a vital role in the students’ future. Form more information contact Leslie Smith at 248-353-0735, ext. 152 or lsmith@esd.org.
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Source: The Engineering Society of Detroit