CHICAGO — The pressing issue for the award-winning, project-based Future City® Competition is Clean Water: Tap Into Tomorrow for its 2020 competition. The State of Illinois Future City® Competition will be held on Sat., Jan. 18, 2020, at Whitney-Young Magnet School.
Admission is free and open to the public. Over 30 sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade student teams will be competing at the regional competition. The first-place team will go on to compete in Washington, DC during National Engineers Week Feb. 15-22, 2020. The exciting competition culminates with one team taking home the grand prize of a trip to U.S. Space Camp and $7,500 for their school’s STEM program (provided by Finals sponsor Bentley Systems).
Why is this important? According to current estimates, two billion people worldwide – 25% of the world’s population – currently don’t have access to clean water. And that number is expected to double. By 2025, this vital issue may affect as many as four billion of the Earth’s citizens will be living in water-stressed areas. Sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students from across the country and abroad are asked to identify an urban water system threat and then imagine, research, design, and build a futuristic solution to ensure a reliable supply of clean water.
In the US, over 40,000 students, representing 1,500 schools and 40 regions, take part in the Future City® Competition. Teams present their ideas at Regional Competitions in January. US regional winners then face off at the Future City® Finals with a growing roster of international teams, including those from Canada and China.
Major funding for Future City® comes from the Bechtel Corporation, Bentley Systems, Inc, NCEES, Shell Oil Company, and DiscoverE. Additional program support provided by EA and UL.
Regional Sponsors include HNTB, Golden Square, and over 50 associations.
About DiscoverE
DiscoverE is leading a growing volunteer movement that inspires and informs present and future generations to discover engineering. Our network of volunteers in the US and abroad is drawn from the DiscoverE coalition of more than 100 professional societies, major corporations, and government agencies. Together we meet a vital need: introducing students, parents, and educators to engineering, engaging them in hands-on engineering experiences, and making science and math relevant. For more information, visit www.discovere.org.
Future City® State of Illinois
The State of Illinois Future City® Competition® is celebrating its 28th year as a regional group in the national competition. The regional competition involves teams, schools, and professionals from Illinois. In addition to the actual competition, Annual Chicago Engineers Benefit Dinner showcases the top local teams and award winners. For more information, visit our website here or go to http://futurecity.org/illinois-chicago.
Grant Manager & Press Contact
Deborah J. Hodges, State of Illinois
Golden Square
312.675.6080