GUILDERLAND — A plastic egg carton. Empty spools of thread. Pieces of a Pentium processor, a broken home computer. Old bottle caps.

The relentless research and soaring imagination of 18 Farnsworth Middle School students combined these mundane objects and many more to create a prize-winning Future City.

Farnsworth’s Future City team won first place in regional competition and will go on next month to compete nationally in Washington, D.C.

While Deb Escobar, the school’s enrichment teacher, produced a dozen pages of learning objectives met by the project — ranging from evaluating mathematical conjecture to developing a conceptual understanding of ecological crises — the kids had absorbed those lessons to such a degree that they could show their city to a visitor with unabashed enthusiasm, describing each part with pride.

There was no recitation or sense of rote learning as they talked about their handiwork.
"These kids like to think about great ideas and try to get them to work," said Tom McGreevy, a Farnsworth technology teacher who coached the team with Escobar.
"I liked how we got to use our creativity and imagination and we could do almost whatever we wanted," said Jonathan McBride, one of the team members.

Most of the city is built underground — symbolized by an arched structure at one end of the five-foot-long model. This was a solution to the problem posed by a thinning ozone layer and resulting global warming; only heavy industrial complexes are above ground. The citizens, with their schools, and libraries, and stadiums, and houses of worship, have moved underground.

Built on a scale of one inch to 50 feet, the model took 60 hours to build, said Escobar.

The kids named their city New Salem.
"We couldn’t decide where to put our city," said Paul Travers, one of its builders. "Originally it was in Oregon, which is why it was named New Salem." The capital of Oregon is Salem. "Then it moved to New York," said Travers. "The name just stuck."
The flying electric generators, which bob from the top of the model, represent a field of 60, reported student Dan Sipzner, who said he is referred to as the mayor of the city. "The wind in the jet stream is about 200 miles per hour," he said.
"They’re located high in the air where they can create energy by catching the winds," said Kyungduk Rho.
"Brainstorming" went on between the kids and the teachers working on the project to come up with creative solutions, said Escobar.
Take the generators, for example. "We talked about what kind of energy generator we could investigate and depict in a model," said McGreevy.
He went on about the flying generators, "It was really all the students’ idea. I had to send Dan out to do a prototype. He built the prototype and the kids made them. I showed them how to wire it."
McGreevy concluded, "They all know how those generators work. They know what’s in the model and how it fits together. If we did the work, they wouldn’t understand it."

Many pieces make a vibrant city
Jessie Feinman pointed out the sparkling free-form nano buildings. "Nanobots can grow the building to fit the needs of the people," he said.
Alex Dvorscak chimed in, describing the tiny size of a nanobot. "It’s nanoscopic," he says.
"The fiber-optic cables provide light for the underground city," said Alex Verrelli.

Sunlight, he said, powers the bio-domes where crops are raised.

The domes were once plastic egg cartons and cookie containers, said Lizzy Whalen.

She and Dana McLaughlin made the L & D Mall, a domed creation with mesmerizing graphics, names for their first initials.
Both of them like mall-shopping and included "all kinds of stores," said McLaughlin, ranging from clothes to groceries.

Andrew Coy pointed out the Sheraton hotel, a gleaming skyscraper with horizontal bands of alternate black and silver. The 21 penthouses on top were fashioned by Lily Li.
"The penthouses on top are for wealthy residents," said Li. They are made of push-pins. The hotel has 3,500 rooms, she said.
Verrelli pointed out the city’s schools — three pyramids in a row — one for elementary students, one for middle school, and one for high school. He described their design as "futuristic."
Feinman pointed out an office tower with vegetation on top. "It’s a nicer working environment for the time you get off," he said of the rooftop garden. "It’s a nice spot to have a meeting."
He then went on to describe the fusion reactor — a modernistic design created from a compact disk and empty spools of thread. "It powers a laser which fires at hydrogen molecules at very high temperatures," he said, "generating large amounts of electricity...One-hundred-and-twenty seconds is enough to power the planet."

Wade Appleby described the workings of the hydroplant, which gets its power, he said, from algae, separating hydrogen and oxygen particles.
Verrelli then pointed out the art museum and library and the "spiritual renewment center."
"New Salem welcomes all religions," he said. "There’s a synagogue inside and an Islamic temple, and churches for Christians," he said.

Paul Travers pointed out the jail, which has an exercise area on top as well as individual crystal cells for solitary confinement, he said.

The jail was built by Jonathan McBride.

The reason he placed the crystal cells on top of the jail, McBride said, is because it would keep society safe without being too tough on the prisoners.
"If they weren’t trusted outside," he said, "they could sit in the little dome — kind of like being outside but not really. Or they could work with plants."

The rescue building, Sipzner said, has special cars that take off to douse fire.

McLaughlin said bio-foam rather than water is used to douse the flames.
Whalen described the work that went into building the traditional-style city hall. Coffee stirrers were used to make the pillars in front, and the gold-domes on top — "all little rooms" — were once bottle caps. The center, large dome is trimmed with brocade.

Haejin Hwang and Justine Aloise built the zoo, based on a map of a real zoo.

Hwang pointed out the children’s zoo and the sea lion’s park. Aloise pointed out the dove cage, fashioned in a heart shape.

The pair made the cages out of tiny bits of folded metal wire.
"Children need a place to look at animals," said Hwang.

The library, which looks rather like a mushroom, was constructed from futuristic photos, Hwang said.
"It’s a holographic library," she said.
"On, cool!" said Dvorscak.
Brendan Blendell, known as "Dr. Brendan," spoke about the medical research center he built, which looks just like a picture of a modernistic center. He balanced a computer mouse on top of a cinnamon jar and painted the complex white to get the desired effect.
"The city has a population of 1.8 million and an average life expectancy of 88 years because of the research center," Blendell said.

Chris Miller built the Black Cat Stadium. He picked the name because of the association with witches in Salem, he said. A picture of cat’s head is centered in the turf of the foot ball field.

Bleacher seats ring the stadium, constructed inside of a foil pie plate.

Miller painstakingly built the tiny goal posts out of toothpicks.
Kari Balogh built the telecommunications plant out of a Styrofoam ball. It has solar panels for power and a satellite "to connect to other cities," she said.

"All about the kids"

Escobar and McGreevy were helped by an engineer mentor, Robert Sipzner of Barton and Loguidice.

Sipzner is the father of one of the team members; both Sipzner and Escobar made a point of saying Dan Sipzner had excelled on his own.

All three adults stressed that the work was done by the students; they said they served as resources and guides.
"This is all about the kids," said Robert Sipzner, as he refused to pose for a picture with the team’s trophy.
"The kids had all the ideas," said McGreevy. "We just filtered their ideas."
Escobar also credited Kim Drake. a Farnsworth science teacher, for "paving the way" by pioneering the school’s involvement in the Future City competition. "We all reach higher when we stand on each other’s shoulders," she said.

Nineteen teams competed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Capital District competition sponsored as a function of National Engineers Week. The Farnsworth team came in first, earning 350 out of 400 points.

The Capital District Region is one of three in New York; the others are in Buffalo and New York City. Altogether, 33 teams will compete in Washington, said Robert Sipzner.

In addition to being the regional champs, the Farnsworth team also won two prizes in the local contest — for best model design and for most innovative design for a sustainable environment.
"We were using wind and solar power as opposed to using finite resources," said Robert Sipzner.
"Competition is great," said McGreevy. Having a contest adds excitement and focus and leads to recognition "just like a sports team," he said.
McGreevy went on, "As a society, we do very little for academics compared with sports." He said of Farnsworth, though, "This school is very supportive."
The competition, he said, "gives these kids the opportunity to get recognition for being good students."

Five parts

The competition involves more than just producing a model of a city, Escobar explained. She described the process.

The first part is using SimCity software where students who create livable cities are rewarded by having them grow as residents move in.
"If the citizens are not happy, they can start riots or leave," said Escobar. "It teaches kids the importance of the infrastructure of a city — things like water and power and good transportation that kids don’t usually think about."

Second, the students do an engineering feasibility study. The problem that was posed was land with a vacant strip mall had to be reclaimed; that land had a gas station on it that had left pollution in its wake, Escobar said.

J.C. Higgins wrote an essay on removing MTBE from the soil, left by leaking gas tanks. Methyl tertiary-butyl ether, a fuel additive used to reduce carbon-monoxide emissions in the air, has had a harmful effect on groundwater.
"It soaks it up," Higgins said of the processor that sits above ground, over the bulk of city, "so we can live down here."
The essay counted for 90 points out of the total 400. "We owe a debt to him," said Escobar.
Higgins said he likes to write. "It’s fun," he said with a shrug. His favorite kind of writing is realistic fiction.

Third, the team had to produce a city abstract, describing New Salem’s key features.

Lily Li wrote the abstract, highlighting New Salem’s entertainment and special features.

Fourth, the students built their model city.
"A part of the SimCity model had to be represented," said Escobar. "But you could expand....The scenario they chose was global warming. The ozone was so bad that citizens couldn’t live above ground."

The fifth and final part was a presentation by three students.

The three students who volunteered to do that — Alex Dvorscak, Dana McLaughlin, and Dan Sipzner — will be sent to Washington for the national competition.
"They acted out a skit to tell about the city," said Escobar. "It had to be less than seven minutes long, encompass all facets, and be entertaining."

"True team effort"

As regional winners, the Farnsworth team receives accommodations and flights for five people, which the three students presenters will use along with Escobar and Robert Sipzner.

Farnsworth also received $2,000 in prize money which Escobar said will be used to help others on the team go to Washington, too. She is accepting contributions to defray costs for other team members and can be reached at 456-6010, ext. 3059.

The competition in the nation’s capital is from Feb. 18 to 23, which is during Guilderland’s school break.
"It’s a hard thing to have only three move on," Escobar said. "This has been a true team effort."

Winners of the national contest get to attend a space camp.
"I never focused on the prizes," said Escobar. "The emphasis has been on the learning experience — developing critical thinking skills, problem-solving, learning engineering principles, team work."
She went on, "I wasn’t after a win and I didn’t anticipate it."
This is Escobar’s fifth year working on Future City projects and she attributes part of this team’s success to a course she began teaching two years ago called "Future Engineers and Architects."
"This year’s team came out of last year’s course" said Escobar.

The 18 team members were chosen from among the 30 students in the class, based on achievement.

This year, Escobar said, 77 students signed up to take the course and she can accommodate only 25 or 28 at the most.
"It’s hands-on," she explained.

So, to winnow the applicants, she asked students over their December vacation to construct a building; 38 did. Escobar then chose 24 students who will begin the course on Jan. 26.
"It’s built a lot of enthusiasm in the school," Escobar said of the Future City competition. "In the real world, without a competition, would students spend 60 hours building a model""
McGreevy said of the final contest in Washington, "Win, lose, or draw — they had a good experience."

Sipzner, the engineer mentor, agreed with the teachers’ focus on learning rather than winning.
"I’m hoping the kids have a good time," he said of the Washington trip. "I don’t want them to focus on winning. They should on where they are and how they got there...If they say, ‘Look what I learned,’ that will take them someplace else."