Middle school students compete in Future City Competition

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Wisconsin's annual Future Cities Competition wrapped up on Saturday, January 18th with several projects on display at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

During the past several months, young students from around the area have been developing future cities featuring varied visions of tomorrow's transportation.

"It's a program for middle school students where they have an opportunity to plan, design and build a city of the future," said event coordinator Rich Merkel. "I've seen everything from hovercraft to flux tubes to robot cars."

Students say they enjoy experiencing the tests and trials of building a city as a team.

"I like it because it gives us a little taste of what engineering is like and what kind of problems engineers have to face," said Juan Reyes of Nativity Jesuit Middle School.

"It was really fun to come up with the ideas and to think about how we could change our world," said Elle Davidson of Golda Meir Elementary School.

The winner of Saturday's competition, Milwaukee's Fernwood Montesori, heads to Washington D.C. in February to compete at the national level. Milwaukee's Golda Meier came in second.