The Future is Kaiaulu!

Morganton Day School 6th-8th graders competed in the North Carolina Future City regional competition. After two cancellations because of the snow, our resilient students created a video presentation to submit to a team of engineering judges. This year’s challenge was, "Design a city that eliminates food waste from farm to table and keeps your citizens healthy and safe." In recent years, engineers, scientists, farmers, manufacturers, and city planners are coming up with exciting new solutions like using waste products to feed livestock, designing reusable food packaging, and using smart bins that turn scraps into compost or energy. These systems don’t just eliminate waste, they protect the planet and keep communities strong. In response to this scenario, our students imagined what the world could be like in one hundred years and wrote an essay describing solutions for their futuristic city. In addition, the team submitted a project plan, created a scale model, and developed a seven-minute presentation. In their video, students answered specific questions from the judges, describing their fully developed solution, expressing their plans for infrastructure, and discussing feasibility based on their location in the Hawaiian Islands. Students demonstrated research skills, communication skills, social skills, thinking skills, and self-management as they prepared for the competition.

We are proud to share that Morganton Day School students won a specialty award for Best Use of Energy. According to the Duke Energy presenter, MDS students represent vibrant and dedicated engineers who showed foresight and ingenuity in planning not only for ideal situations but also for the toughest scenarios. The team also took home the honor of earning Second Place in the State! We are so proud of our future engineers and can't wait to see the incredible ways they contribute to our school, our community, and our world!