Future City Competition; Waukesha students advance to nationals

Future City Competition, students on to nationals

The future looks bright for a group of students in Waukesha. They are headed to a national competition to share their vision of what a major city could look like 100 years from now.

WAUKESHA, Wis. - The future looks bright for a group of students in Waukesha. They are headed to a national competition to share their vision of what a major city could look like 100 years from now.

"We created it using a lot of recyclables," said Evan Slater, 8th grade student.

"Welcome to our city of Nouveau Mindanao," said James Lehrmann, 8th grade student.

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Students at Waukesha STEM Academy's Saratoga Campus advanced in the regional Future City Competition in January.

"The goal is basically to design a city 100 years into the future," said Connor Paulsrud, 8th grade student.

Now, the team is off to the nationals. They leave for Washington, D.C. on Friday, Feb. 16.

"Consider the things that we take for granted today and to challenge the notion of whether or not those will be in existence in the future," said Joshua Hoffmann, Waukesha STEM Academy science teacher.

Hoffmann said the concept pushes kids to think about solutions to sustainability issues.

Joshua Hoffmann

"I learned lots about renewable energy and renewable energy storage," said Finley Hubiack, 8th grade student.

Organizers estimate 60,000 students entered the Future City Competition in 2024. It is this school's first trip to the nationals.

Science and engineering are at the forefront. But the competition also requires students to write a 1,500-word essay about how their city works.

"These polluted the city and were a big factor contributing to climate change," said Cam Gregor, 8th grade student.

After a seven-minute presentation, the students have to answer questions from a panel of STEM professionals before the winning team is picked.

"We get money for our school which would be really awesome," Paulsrud said.

The grand prize they are really after – getting to spend one week at NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

"I think it would be a dream come true," Hubiack said.

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The Waukesha students will present their city on Monday, Feb. 19.

This year's theme is "Electrify your future" – and one of the goals is to design a 100% fully electric city powered by clean, renewable energy sources.