Making the future
On the morning of Jan 20th, the Pennsylvania State museum buzzed with nervous excitement as twenty-four teams of central PA middle-school students gathered to showcase months of dedicated effort. Team members carry models, double-checking that every part is set up correctly. Presentations teams scan trough their notes one last time before the judges arrive. Mentors and teachers try to calm the teams' nerves.
Welcome to Future Cities 2018 competition day!
Since early October, Marshall Math Science Academy students have been meeting during the EXPLORE after-school program to imagine, plan, and design an 'age-friendly' city of the future. New Bodie, California, features many technological features designed to help keep older folks integrated into the life of the city. My personal favorite is the Bubble Car: a personal self-driving sphere that moves in near-straight lines across land and water to safely deliver the occupant to their destination. At this years' competition, the MMSA team earned the Most Creative Use of Materials award for their physical, scale model.
This year, we are grateful to Community Coach John Hayden (Senior Project Development Engineer at Reynolds Solutions) for volunteering his time to bring professional, real-life experience into the project. He worked alongside Lead Teachers Mr. Spiroff and Ms. Groom to walk the student team through the design of their city.
Ms. Groom, who worked closely with the Presentation Team, observed how the students demonstrated Critical Thinking (a key 21st century skill): after each informal presentation to passers-by, students reflected on what went well and what could be improved, making changes on-the-fly for a better presentation next round. The teachers also noted that the young women on the team, especially some younger ones, provided a lot of key leadership. Hurrah for these young women! Can't wait to see how they will grow and develop in years to come!
