On
Saturday, January 24, the Fulton Science Academy Future City Team
competed in Future City Competition at Southern Polytechnic State
University. They won four awards including one of the seven special
awards “Team of the year”. Even though it was the first experience for
our teachers and students of Future City, they are off to a wonderful
start!
FSA team took months to plan and build their city. Before the final judging on Saturday, team was required to prepare 5 components for the competition. The competition components are as follows:
1- Research Essay: Students do a wide research on a predetermined concept and write an essay. This year’s theme was to choose two foods (one vegetable and one protein) and design a way to grow enough of each within the future city borders to feed all of the citizens for at least one growing season. Taking into account your city’s size and location, students must consider the critical elements needed to grow food including light, climate, air quality, space, water, soil, and nutrients. Our team developed a futuristic farming method called SEAS (Smart Efficient Aquaponics System). Aquaponics is a system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic animals supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water.
Below is a paragraph from our research essay describing what the SEAS is and how it works.
‘‘The initial SEAS design consisted of a large steel cylindrical structure containing an aquaponics farm inside. To this, numerous large fish tanks were added as well as trays where watercress is produced. The SEAS is extremely efficient. All required energy is produced by a solar panel on top. Sensors collect data such as temperature, humidity, light levels and carbon dioxide levels which can be monitored remotely. The collected data is evaluated by SEAS software and can be sent to remote devices. Automatic shades control the amount of light entering the structure to regulate temperatures depending on the weather and time of day. Insulation can also be deployed to protect the fish and crops during winter months.’’
2- Virtual City: Students use SimCity software to design a city that progresses into the future.
3 - City Narrative: Students write a narrative (maximum 500 words) describing their future city’s key features and design attributes. The purpose of the City Narrative is to give the judges a quick overview of the future city’s infrastructure and its public services.
4- 3D Model: Students build a physical model of a section of their city using recycled materials that has at least one moving part. The model does not need to be an exact building-by-building duplication of the virtual design. Rather, the purpose of the model is to give a three-dimensional, creative representation of an area that best represents the team’s vision of their future city.
5- Presentation: Students give a 7 minute presentation discussing features of their future city followed by a 5 - 8 minute question and answer period from the judges (overall time will not exceed 15 minutes). Be sure to check with your Regional Coordinator for exact competition times.
All future city students worked cooperatively for months focusing on different components of the competition. They worked at cabin camps, stayed for after school meetings and participated home tutoring sessions. All of their effort paid off! They won “Team of the Year Award” , “Most Innovative Construction Techniques Award”, “Accessible City” and “Excellence in the use of Building Materials Award”.
Congratulations to all team members!!!
Amisha Darji
Luke Westerfield
Kian Najaf
Shourya Jasti
Sparsh Kudrimoti
Akash Bhatt
Rithvik Konda
Ananya Pottabhathini
Mr. Tuzen and Mr. Kurt
FSA team took months to plan and build their city. Before the final judging on Saturday, team was required to prepare 5 components for the competition. The competition components are as follows:
1- Research Essay: Students do a wide research on a predetermined concept and write an essay. This year’s theme was to choose two foods (one vegetable and one protein) and design a way to grow enough of each within the future city borders to feed all of the citizens for at least one growing season. Taking into account your city’s size and location, students must consider the critical elements needed to grow food including light, climate, air quality, space, water, soil, and nutrients. Our team developed a futuristic farming method called SEAS (Smart Efficient Aquaponics System). Aquaponics is a system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic animals supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water.
Below is a paragraph from our research essay describing what the SEAS is and how it works.
‘‘The initial SEAS design consisted of a large steel cylindrical structure containing an aquaponics farm inside. To this, numerous large fish tanks were added as well as trays where watercress is produced. The SEAS is extremely efficient. All required energy is produced by a solar panel on top. Sensors collect data such as temperature, humidity, light levels and carbon dioxide levels which can be monitored remotely. The collected data is evaluated by SEAS software and can be sent to remote devices. Automatic shades control the amount of light entering the structure to regulate temperatures depending on the weather and time of day. Insulation can also be deployed to protect the fish and crops during winter months.’’
2- Virtual City: Students use SimCity software to design a city that progresses into the future.
3 - City Narrative: Students write a narrative (maximum 500 words) describing their future city’s key features and design attributes. The purpose of the City Narrative is to give the judges a quick overview of the future city’s infrastructure and its public services.
4- 3D Model: Students build a physical model of a section of their city using recycled materials that has at least one moving part. The model does not need to be an exact building-by-building duplication of the virtual design. Rather, the purpose of the model is to give a three-dimensional, creative representation of an area that best represents the team’s vision of their future city.
5- Presentation: Students give a 7 minute presentation discussing features of their future city followed by a 5 - 8 minute question and answer period from the judges (overall time will not exceed 15 minutes). Be sure to check with your Regional Coordinator for exact competition times.
All future city students worked cooperatively for months focusing on different components of the competition. They worked at cabin camps, stayed for after school meetings and participated home tutoring sessions. All of their effort paid off! They won “Team of the Year Award” , “Most Innovative Construction Techniques Award”, “Accessible City” and “Excellence in the use of Building Materials Award”.
Congratulations to all team members!!!
Amisha Darji
Luke Westerfield
Kian Najaf
Shourya Jasti
Sparsh Kudrimoti
Akash Bhatt
Rithvik Konda
Ananya Pottabhathini
Mr. Tuzen and Mr. Kurt
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