Students give engineers a glimpse into future

There are several things to recommend in Yumplegut City, from the buses that suction trash off the streets to the power plant that takes its energy from the motion of water waves.

But if you ask the boys who created this simulated city, they will tell you: The thing the citizens like most is their mascot, the puffer fish.

"Puffer fish are an integral part of the Yumplegut City lifestyle," said Collin Gross, 13, of Whitman Middle School in Seattle.

At Seattle Center on Saturday, dozens of middle-school students took the engineering community on a flight of fancy, showing their range of math and science skills along the way. It was all part of the 15th annual National Engineers Week Future City Competition, an effort to nurture early interest in engineering and encourage students to think about how they want the world to work.

About 30,000 students across the country participated in the four-phase project, which involves a computer simulation of a city, a physical model, an essay, and a timed presentation before at least two sets of judges, who are professional engineers.

The three-person teams are scored on everything from original thinking to use of recyclable materials to livability of the city. This year, teams were asked to incorporate the use of fuel cells in their models.

St. Patrick's School in Pasco won Saturday's regional contest for its model city Siddiran, which used fuel cells to provide the energy to heat beaches and power the irrigation of agricultural fields. The team heads to the national finals in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 19. The grand prize is a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.

The small cities on Saturday varied widely. One team crafted an "elevator" to transport supplies to space. Another used colored crystals to dress up city streets. There were organic homes capable of growing their own rooms and solar panels on the roofs of nearly every homemade house.

"You never know where they're going to take you," said Steve Snelling, an industrial engineer with Boeing. "That's the fun of being a judge."

Under the constraint of a $100 budget, students got creative, using milk cartons for condominiums, cotton and toothpicks for trees, and silver-painted eggshells for single-family homes. When the judges came around, the teams advertised the cities in much the same manner as a game-show host, pointing to the flashiest features. One team sang a welcome song. Another handed out brochures.

Bill Gruner, a teacher at Union Gap Middle School in Yakima County, stood proudly by his students, who had created the cities of Olympus, with its space elevator, and Boto City, with its floating theme. "They had it in them," he said. "I just drew it out."

Working together, and under pressure, was sometimes a challenge. Lauren Sires recalled "freaking out" on that last school day, when teammate Jesse Martinez was watching music videos. The problem between them was pretty simple.

"I like giving directions," said Sires, smiling. "And he doesn't like to hear them."

But when the judges reached the team's table on Saturday, the teammates were calm, cooperative and confident. The teammates smiled through an explanation of how lasers and solar panels would power their space elevator, the base of which was the plastic container for a washing-machine motor.

"I was nervous at first," said Ayanna Garcia. "But the first presentation, it just fell into place."

Asked about their own, real-life cities, the students at the competition paused to consider. In Union Gap, it was a livability issue. The students suggested more restaurants, more activities, more parks.

Members of the team from Whitman Middle School said they wanted to clear the smoke stacks from South Seattle and get rid of motels along Aurora Avenue North.

Bad planning, the team said. Not like Yumplegut City, which was praised Saturday for its attention to detail.

Then again, Seattle grew so fast — maybe the planners just couldn't keep up. That's what it seemed like to Gross, anyway.

"They made it up as they went along," he said.

Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com