MSU offers support to middle school teams that design a fire-resistant city; applications due Sept. 7

BOZEMAN - Montana middle school educators can apply for funding and technical support from Montana State University to participate in Future City, a nationally recognized engineering and design program for students in grades 6-8. This year's theme, "Fire Resilient Future," asks students to design a city that can prevent, withstand and recover from urban wildfires.

In small teams and with the support of a coach and mentor, students will research, plan and design a city set 100 years in the future, then create a scale model built primarily from recycled materials, a project plan, an essay and a presentation.

As participants develop their cities, they apply the engineering design process, use math and science to solve real-world challenges, strengthen teamwork and communication skills, and gain experience managing a long-term project. The program is aligned with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.

To be eligible, applicants must be Montana-based youth-serving organizations, such as schools, after-school programs, 4-H clubs, scouting groups or Boys and Girls Clubs.

Applications are due to MSU on Monday, Sept. 7. Funded teams will be notified by Sept. 11 and will begin preparing for regional competitions taking place in January 2027.

MSU will host a virtual informational session on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 4 p.m.

To register for the informational session or learn more about the program, visit https://www.montana.edu/smrc/stem-outreach/futurecity.html

The program is supported by the MSU Science Math Resource Center, the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative Project and the National Science Foundation-funded SMART FIRES project.