Walnut Elementary students took fourth place in the Future City Competition, held Saturday, with their design for "Garnicia." Modesto Girl Scout Troop #2225 took first place and will be representing Northern California at the National Engineers Week Future City Competition Feb. 15-20 in Washington, D.C.

The annual challenge has received national attention and acclaim for its role in encouraging middle schoolers nationwide to develop their interest in science, technology, engineering and math. 

More than 40 schools in Northern California entered, but only 20 made it to Saturday's model judging stage.  All three Stanislaus County teams made it to the final round.  Walnut Elementary placed fourth and La Loma Junior High placed fifth. 

The competition is judged on five components: The Virtual City Design, Research Essay, City Narrative, Model and Team Presentation. Scores from all five components are added together to determine the top team.  The Stanislaus County teams competed in a Mock Future City Competition on Jan. 16 at the Martin Petersen Event Center to help prepare them for the state event. 

The future city "Vintage Grove" was created by students from Girl Scout Troop #2225,  which is comprised of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls from the Stanislaus Union School District and Big Valley Christian School. 

This is the third consecutive year that a team from Stanislaus County has represented Northern California at the National Competition.