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Hart-Ransom futurists headed to D.C.Jan 23, 2011 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Hart Ransom students may hail from Modesto, but it's the time they spent in "Serenity Falls" that won them a statewide engineering contest Saturday. The eight-student team will head to Washington, D.C., in February. There they will pitch their vision of Alzheimer's treatment in 2161 at their fictional city -- Serenity Falls -- to the national Future City Competition judges. Students had to devise a futuristic medical treatment as part of the city planning contest devised by the National Engineers Week Foundation. They were required to create a virtual city with Sim City software; a scale model of the city; and write an essay and narrative about it. All four elements had to be presented and defended by students before a panel of judges. Twenty-seven teams competed Saturday, including three from Walnut Elementary and one from Crowell Elementary in Turlock. Engineer Rapunzel Amador Lewis of Turlock was state contest coordinator. Sixth-graders from Don Pedro Elementary in Ceres also were among five finalists in the state contest held at California State University, Stanislaus, on Saturday. In the Don Pedro city of "New Olympus," residents have "a nanochip in the fingernail. It tells you when you're about to have an asthma attack," said team member James Diaz, 11. In a San Jose entry, kids cured cancer by implanting nanorobots powered by body heat to eradicate harmful cells. Hart Ransom envisioned Alzheimer's patients treated with a nanochip shot into the temporal lobe that would heal damage, provide instant health updates and give GPS locations, eighth-grader Brandon Heinrich told the judges. "What really impressed me this year is the students are so educated on health already," said Jag Nagendra, a contest facilitator. "I got to read the essays and narratives. They're so very inventive," said Keith Griffith of the Stanislaus County Economic Development and Workforce Alliance. "They're practicing public speaking, using teamwork. ... This is what our community needs more of," he said. "Project-based learning is the best way to learn. students are completely engaged. They make decisions, problem solve, use presentation skills -- those skills get neglected because they don't get tested. Students have to stand up in front of the judges and present. It's really great for their self confidence," said Hart Ransom adviser Sara Martin. Experience also helped, said Hart Ransom seventh-grader Riley Noland. "Because this was our second year doing this, we knew more," Riley said. "It was a relief to have it done and have everyone come around and compliment you," seventh-grader Kelcey Aspesi of Hart Ransom said after the first round. Besides all that education, students got to get their hands dirty painting, gluing and decorating recycled materials for the scale models of their cities. Serenity Falls' water feature and underground hydroelectric facility was constructed with wooden forms and plaster. Monopoly hotels served as tiny houses. An upside-down fruit cup became the town art center. A dog food can and solar light formed the library. CDs topped by a coffee filter lined up as glittering "Diamond Tower," the health care center of the future. "Mostly it's garbage. You can't spend more than $100," Martin said. The Hart Ransom team heading to Washington also included seventh-graders Carolyn Ringer and Nichole Alexander along with eighth-graders Brittany Anshutz, Javier Burdette and Sebastian Martinez. To see more of The Modesto Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.modbee.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Modesto Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |