Future Schools Challenge

Science World, Oct 4, 1999

Ever dream of inventing your own school? Well, hundreds of kids did, and entered our "Design the School of the Future" contest (SW 2/22/99). Using technology and engineering principle--plus a vivid imagination--SW readers came up with `A ' ideas.

Entries were judged by representatives of National Engineers Week, MATHCOUNTS and the Junior Engineering Technical Society Each of the 10 winners earns $100 and a year subscription to Science World for their school libraries.

Teleporting to School Tristan Bender West Jefferson Middle School Conifer, CO

Students in this futuristic school teleport between classrooms and home. The chalkboard has been replaced by a giant multimedia screen, which shows movies and class lectures, and is controlled from the teacher's desk. Eyes up front, everybody!

Old is New Emma Prillaman Country Day School Charles Town, WV

Students in this school in 2042 learn about animals and plants through 3-D holograms on individual computers. To study math, science, mechanics, and history, students reconstruct a car from 1999. Now that's an old jalopy!

Virtual Learning Joshua Nilson Harrisburg R-VIII Harrisburg, MO

Students in this space school use virtual-reality helmets to transport back to the 18th century and learn early U.S. history. Their teachers are merely holographic images. Gym class is the most fun--playing virtual basketball with Michael Jordan!

School: What a Trip! Elizabeth Price Country Day School Charles Town, WV

Travel back in time to 1860 to learn about Abe Lincoln. Scuba dive to learn oceanography. Take a jet ride around the world to learn geography. This school stresses hands-on learning with the Earth as a classroom. Astronomy class, though, is out of this world!

No Books? No Problem! Iris Tomlinson West Jefferson Middle School Conifer, CO

The desks come with pencil dispensers, touch-sensitive computer screens, and inflatable chairs. All textbooks are programmed into computers, and you take your assignments home on a floppy disk. The dog can't eat that homework!

Electronic Education Zone Daniel Gornetzki I.S. 25 Flushing, NY

Students get around school in an electric "autobuggymobileclassroom." This machine has color-coded buttons for each school subject. Students learn by receiving harmless "learning rays" aimed at their brains. Quick, painless, and no need for homework!

School can be Fun??? Rob Weiss Wilmington Friends School Wilmington, DE

The classroom desks have gum grinders, the gym has a go-kart track, and the chairs float for quick scooting around. After school, a plane flies you home and you parachute into your living room. What a day!

Greenhouse School Erin Hartz Country Day School Charles Town, WV

This whole school is enclosed in a plastic bubble. Classrooms are filled with plants, which absorb the carbon dioxide students exhale. These plants also control temperature and humidity by absorbing and releasing vapor. It's almost like class in a jungle!

Robots, oh my! Molly Wilkin Country Day School Charles Town, WV

At the "Redwood School," named by its designer, students learn all about organisms by putting nature in the classroom. Robots help care for organisms, tutor students, and even sub for sick teachers. That's pretty cool!

Tubular School Caroline Quinio Mother of Good Counsel Louisville, KY

Every building in this futuristic school is connected by tubes--pathways for shuttles carrying students to class. The science building has a clear roof to study clouds or stars right from your desk. No spacing out, kids!