Registration is now open for educators to sign up for the Future City Experience: Climate Change, an abbreviated version of the Future City Competition that introduces students in grades 6, 7, and 8 to the engineering design process.
Launched by Engineers Canada in 2021, in partnership with Engineers of Tomorrow, the Future City Experience is designed to introduce students to engineering in a fun and engaging way with support from engineering mentors.
The Future City Experience is entirely virtual and can be adapted to in-class or online learning models. Students are asked to use the engineering design process to imagine, research, design, and build a futuristic city that is adapted to the impacts of climate change using engineering solutions.
Working in teams and guided by an educator and a virtual engineering mentor, students will build a physical model, or multiple model segments, of their city. Using a provided template, they will then submit photos and brief descriptions of the various aspects of their climate adapted city while presenting live via Zoom to a panel of engineers who will provide them with feedback on their design at the Future City Experience Showcase in May 2024.
To support educators and students as they become familiar with the Future City Experience, Engineers Canada has partnered with Ontario Tech University to provide participating classrooms, home schools, and Girl Guide and Scout units with an engineering mentor who will be a great resource for students as they design their future city. Engineers Canada will host a live Kick-off event January 31, 2024 where students and educators can hear from engineers and subject matter experts about how their work might apply in designing a climate change adapted city. Engineers Canada also provides a range of resources to help guide students in their work.
Since the first iteration of the Future City Experience in 2021, more than 4,100 students and 200 volunteer mentors from across Canada have participated. Feedback from educators who participated last year testified to the program’s ability to engage students. One hundred per cent of teachers reported that the program encouraged students to apply math and science to real-world problems, and teachers reported that 85 per cent of students had a deeper understanding of engineering after completing the program.
If you are an educator, or a Girl Guide or Scout leader, and you’d like to participate in the Future City Experience, register today on Engineers Canada’s Explore Engineering website. Register by January 28, 2024 if you would like to be paired with an engineering mentor.
Engineers, engineers-in-training, or engineering students wishing to be an engineering mentor to classrooms participating in this year’s Future City Experience can find more information and apply on the Explore Engineering website.
The Future City Experience is an adaptation of DiscoverE’s Future City Competition. Engineers Canada brought the Future City Competition to Canada in 2016 and launched the Future City Experience in 2021 with the generous support of NSERC’s PromoScience program.
