How our top-placing teams solved their challenges in 2018-19:
"STEMipedes," Whitman & Longfellow
Escape Artists (Service Learning challenge) Ethan, Logan, Ava, Greta, Audrey, Mya This team learned about challenges and the isolation people with disabilities may experience, and how medical alert service dogs can help them gain independence and keep them safe. They also discovered that people who have medical alert service dogs sometimes face discrimination in public places and may be asked to leave. In response, the team wrote a children's book titled Lemonade, which tells the story of a young girl who feels isolated from friendships because of her epilepsy. She learns how a service dog might help her, has a lemonade stand, and with some community help is able to get a medical alert service dog she names Lemonade. The team shared their book during story hour at the Wauwatosa Public Library and collected donations for Little Angels Service Dogs, an organization in San Diego that trains dogs. The book is available to be borrowed at the Wauwatosa Public Library, and the team is beginning to research small publishers who can help spread their message to even a greater audience. "Still Thinking," Tosa East
Heads Up (Improv challenge) Ben, Luca, Jack, Angelo, Daniel, Evan, John This team researched historical figures found on coins from around the world, then created and presented an improvisational skit that included the historical figures in a tale. They integrated an event that had an impact on the tale and presented the skit in two parts (switching from comedy to tragedy) and in two styles, verbal and non-verbal. "Oh, oh, oh, We're Magic," Longellow
Escape Artists (Service Learning challenge) Audrey, Henry, Emma, Grace, Adeline, Maria, Lily For their service project, this team built their own escape room and held four events when they invited the public to visit it. They also sold baked goods and hot chocolate during these events. Their goal was to raise $750, but so far they have raised $935--all of which has been donated to Lumos, a charity that helps orphaned children around the world who are in institutions where they are put to work and treated badly. The team then wrote a skit involving the characters from the board game and movie “Clue,” which included information from the project. The escape room became their set! |
"You're in Trouble," Longfellow
Game On (Fine Arts challenge) Charlotte, Jonathan, Claire, Charlotte, Keenan, Pete After the power goes out, a tech-heavy family discovers the power of a board game to bring multiple generations back together, but not without some mishaps! The living room is transformed into a life-sized game of Trouble, complete with human-like pawns. Here is a video of the team talking about Globals. "Team Loading...," Lincoln Elementary
On Target (Technical challenge) Grant, Emilia, Adelle, James, Miles, Liam, Luke The challenge required teams to design and build an aircraft that takes off, flies, lands, and delivers a team-created payload. Team Loading... built a glider that springs from a slingshot and uses simple gears to drop the payload after take off. Click here to see a video of the team's performance at the regional tournament. "The Smooth Criminals," Wauwatosa East
Game On (Fine Arts challenge) Grace, Bea, Sasha, Sophie, Elena, Sofia, Sarah This team made a life-sized Guess Who? board to catch a criminal in an imaginary kingdom world. They learned about hydraulics, power tools, costume design, and teamwork. "Sir Dumpster and Co-op," Wauwatosa East
Escape Artists (Service Learning challenge) Dan, Bailey, Kayden, Mary, Luc, Holly, Katie This team wanted to reduce the amount of waste going into the Wauwatosa landfill, so they developed a project to help young people learn to properly sort their waste into recycling, composting, and garbage. They created an informative website, which included an interactive game; met with a representative from Outpost Natural Foods to learn how the business diverts waste from the landfill; and made a presentation to about 100 students at Wilson/WSTEM elementary school. The team then wrote a skit about four characters--Reduce, Reuse, Scraps, and Peels--who try to escape from a landfill after being thrown there by the evil Sir Dumpster. |