The 2026 Future City Wisconsin Regional January 17, 2026

Future City 2025-26 Competition is in full gear. Educators have registered, so now we need judges and Sponsors!

Sponsorship Information

Future City is a dynamic, project-based learning program that challenges middle school students to imagine, design, and build cities of the future. Through this engaging experience, students apply STEM principles, critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork to address real-world challenges—skills that are vital to the success and growth of our communities. By encouraging young minds to think like engineers and city planners, Future City helps build a foundation for future innovators and leaders right here in Wisconsin.

Your support of the Future City Wisconsin Regional Competition helps inspire the next generation of engineers, innovators, and problem-solvers. By sponsoring this event, you make it possible for middle school educators and students to participate at no cost, ensuring that every student—regardless of background—can dream big and design a better future. Your contribution directly funds hands-on STEM experiences that ignite creativity, teamwork, and real-world learning. Together, we can build brighter futures—one city at a time.

Contact Theresa Wolf, Program Manager, at twolf@stemforward.org, or Rich Merkel, Executive Director, at rmerkel@stemforward.org, to discuss sponsorship options today!

Call for Future City Wisconsin Judges!

Each year, Future City Wisconsin inspires middle school students to imagine, design, and build cities of the future — and we need your help to make it happen! We’re seeking over 140 volunteer judges to bring this incredible opportunity to life for students across our region.

Virtual Essay Judging: Review and score 3–5 student essays using a provided rubric. This flexible volunteer opportunity requires approximately 2–4 hours of your time, at your own convenience, between mid-December and late December.

In-Person Competition Judging: Join us on Saturday, January 17, 2026, from 7:30 AM to 1:00 PM at the MSOE Kern Center in Milwaukee. As an in-person judge, you’ll evaluate team presentations and city models, helping select the top team to represent Wisconsin at the national finals in Washington, D.C.

Whether you’re an engineer, educator, professional, or simply passionate about STEM and the next generation of innovators, your expertise and enthusiasm can make a lasting difference. Sign up today to be a Future City Wisconsin judge and help shape the cities and leaders of tomorrow!

Educator Registration

Educator registration for the 2026 Wisconsin Regional Future City Competition closed on October 31, 2025, but it’s never too early to start planning for next year! If you’re interested in bringing this exciting STEM opportunity to your students in 2027, please connect with Theresa Wolf for more information about the program and how to get started.

It’s not too late to access Future City resources. You can still sign up as a Resource-Only Educator to explore program materials, lesson plans, and guidance for implementing Future City at your school. If you roll out the program with your students this year, we may be able to support a day of judging at your school to provide valuable feedback and help your team prepare for next year’s regional competition.

Learn More About the Future City Competition

The Future City Competition is a project-based learning activity introducing middle school students to project management and the Engineering Design Process. Future City starts with a question – How can we make the world a better place? To answer it, middle school students imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future that showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue. Students research, plan, and create a city that exists 100 years in the future while assessing risk and meeting a schedule. Through the deliverables of the project, students will:

• Apply math and science concepts to real-world issues.

• Develop writing, public speaking, problem-solving, teamwork, project management, and time management skills.

• Learn how their community functions to improve citizenship.

• Build a scale model using recycled materials.

• Research and design solutions to engineering challenges.

• Present and defend their design to a panel of technical judges.

Why participate? This cross-curricular educational program allows students to do what engineers do—identify problems, learn the specs, brainstorm solutions, design solutions, build, test, retest, and share their results. This process is called the Engineering Design Process. With the Engineering Design Process and project management at its center, Future City is an engaging way to build students’ 21st-century skills while they apply math and science concepts to real-world problems. Future City meets the following Academic Standards Compliance:

• Common Core Standards: Science and Technical Literacy

• Common Core: ELA

• Common Core: Mathematics

• Next Generation Science Standards

• Benchmarks for Science Literacy

• Principles and Standards for School Mathematics

Who is eligible? Teams can consist of three students or an entire 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade class. However, the official competing team for presentation and Q&A is limited to three students.

What are the elements? Students, with their team members, will complete five deliverables:

• 1,500-word city essay

• Scale model (or multiple model segments) built from recycled materials

• Project Plan

• City Presentation

• Q&A session with judges

• View videos for the different competition elements on our YouTube Future City Playlist.

Is there a theme? Yes, the theme for 2025-26 is “Farm to Table.” This year’s theme challenges students to devise innovative and sustainable solutions to reduce food waste in their future cities. By combining engineering, technology, and policy, students will explore how to build more resilient, efficient, and equitable food systems. Students will design a city that eliminates food waste from farm to table, keeping its citizens healthy and safe.

When is the competition? The Regional Competition will be held on January 16, 2025. The Future City Finals will take place in Washington, D.C., from February 14 to 18, 2026. Future City provides round-trip transportation and hotel accommodations for the First Place Team’s three student presenters, educators, and mentors.

What is the cost? We have waived the registration fee, so it is free to register for the regional competition! The registration deadline was October 31, 2025.

Are There Mentor Opportunities? We are seeking passionate mentors, engineers, STEM professionals, and educators to guide students through this exciting, project-based competition. The mentoring commitment begins at 4+ hours from September through January, during which you will serve as a sounding board for ideas, provide feedback on deliverables, and share your experience to help spark enthusiasm for potential STEM careers among students. Most educators for the 2025/26 season have been paired, but if you have an interest in becoming a mentor in the future, connect with Theresa Wolf at twolf@stemforward.org for more information, or complete our Mentor Pairing Form to express interest in being matched with a school. Be part of shaping the next generation of innovators!

A Look Back at Last Year’s Future City Program:

The 2024-25 WISCONSIN REGIONAL COMPETITION was held on January 18, 2025.

A special thank you to all the teams, educators, volunteers, sponsors, parents, and community members who joined us for the 2024-25 competition season!

Congratulations to all of the Award Winners!

STEM Forward extends a special thank you to the Regional Future City Steering Committee:

• Eric Tabaska, Badger Meter

• James Formea, Eaton

• Jason Rowell, Astronautics

• Joe Lucchesi, Butters Fetting (Retired)

• Nick Seidler, MSOE

• Sara Feuling, AEM

• Susan Coyle, MMSD

Thank you to the STEM Forward Board of Directors for their endorsement and support of this program.