In mid-January, the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio Troop 44556, located in Hamilton County, won the Ohio region of DiscoverE’s Future City competition this past Saturday. They competed against teams of middle school students from across the state. The troop will now represent Ohio in the national competition Feb. 17-20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Teams of sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students researched technologies, designed scale models, presented plans and models to a panel of engineers, architects and scientists, wrote 1,500-word essays, and designed an innovative, floating, futuristic city that keeps its citizens and the environment healthy and safe.

The teams competed for awards in special categories including infrastructure, transportation, use of recycled materials, and land surveying practices. The Ohio regional competition is sponsored in part by Burgess & Niple, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Strand Associates, Commonwealth Associates, Ohio University Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Ohio EPA, The Ohio State University Sustainability Institute, Mannik & Smith Group, American Council of Engineering Companies, Verdantas, HNTB, AIA Columbus, NCEES, Anderson’s and Rotary Worthington AM.

Special award winners and sponsors included:

Best Architectural Model (American Institute of Architects, Columbus Chapter) – STEAMM Academy at Hartford Middle School, Canton; Honorable Mention to Girl Scouts of Western Ohio – Troop 44556, Cincinnati

Best Moving Part (Worthington AM Rotary Club) – Crestview Middle School, Ashland; Honorable Mention to Heritage Middle School, Westerville

Best Use of Ceramics (Allied Mineral Products) – Genoa Middle School, Westerville; Honorable Mention to Batavia Middle School, Batavia

Best Use of Recreation (Worthington AM Rotary Club) – Indian Hill Middle School, Cincinnati; Honorable Mention to Horizon Science Academy Dayton Downtown, Dayton

Best Use of Recycled Materials (Verdantas) – Girl Scouts of Western Ohio – Troop 44556, Cincinnati; Honorable Mention to Batavia Middle School, Batavia

Best Use of Water Resources Engineering (ODNR Division of Water Resources and American Society of Civil Engineers) – Batavia Middle School, Batavia; Honorable Mention to Crestview Middle School, Westerville

Best Land Surveying Practices (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, NCEES) – Heritage Middle School, Westerville; Honorable Mention to Ambrose School, Brunswick

Best Use of Transportation (HNTB ) – Indian Hill Middle School, Cincinnati; Honorable Mention to Amity Elementary School, Cincinnati

Best Project Plan (Project Management Institute Educational Foundation) – Girl Scouts of Western Ohio – Troop 44556, Cincinnati; Honorable Mention to Crestview Middle School, Westerville

Rookie Team of the Year (ASHE, and Ohio Region – Future City Board) – Joseph Montessori School, Columbus

People’s Choice Award (The Andersons) – Heritage Middle School, Westerville; Honorable Mention to STEAMM Academy at Hartford Middle School, Canton

The Future City Competition is a national, not-for-profit education program. Across the country, more than 55,000 students from 1,500 middle schools participate in the nationwide competition. In Ohio, 47 schools registered for the competition, and 10 competed in the regional competition. For more information, contact Future City Ohio at ohio@futurecity.org.

The Future City Competition introduces students to different engineering fields, such as civil, electrical, chemical, agricultural, biomedical, mechanical, computer software, and hardware engineering. Competing also gives students a chance to improve writing, public speaking, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving skills while developing new computer skills. Above all, Future City enables students to turn their visions of the future into simulated reality.