The competition is over for Genoa Middle School’s Future City team but that hasn’t stopped them from wanting to help the Maa community, a nomadic tribe in Africa whose life has centered on following available resources.
The group focused their Future City project on helping build a city for the community of 200 households who want to settle in one place but have limited access to food, water and housing.
“We talked about how we didn’t do this to win,” eighth-grader Paige Velegol said. “We did this to help people. What good is helping people if you don’t see it through to the end?”
Genoa’s team placed second overall in the Future City competition last month, earning first in the ceramics and infrastructure categories and a runner-up in recreation.
As part of the Future City competition, students had to design sustainable cities of the future that showcase their solution to climate change. They researched technologies, presented plans and models, wrote 1,500-word essays and designed an innovative and futuristic climate adaptation and mitigation strategy to keep their residents healthy and safe.
Meanwhile, Genoa’s team deepened their understanding of the Maa community’s needs and available resources thanks to international, state and local partners. They met virtually with representatives from Globally Reconnect, which serves as a facilitator for mission-driven work across communities. The U.K.-based group supported their Kenyan team to survey members of the Maa community and shared the results, offering insight on the community’s priorities for their new home.
They’ve connected with Ohio State University’s Engineers Without Borders students to learn more about accessing reliable water sources and building sustainable housing for the Maa tribe. They interviewed Kira Barr, a doctoral student at Ohio State who was published in a research journal when she was a student at Olentangy Orange High School about plant species native to Africa that can help replenishing the soil and adding vitamins and nutrients for a healthy diet. While in high school, Barr spent a summer in Malawi volunteering at an AIDS orphan rescue and drilling a well.
Guiding their efforts are advisor and science teacher Tina Bardwell; Linda Amici, a middle school instructional coach; and one of Bardwell’s former students, Caroline Urbanic.
The group now plans to meet twice a month through the rest of the school year to continue their work with the Maa community as well as bring their inventions conceived during their Future City competition to reality.
Amici has also identified other science competitions in which students could submit their work.