Taking toys to the limit
Two teams from Mariposa Elementary School - Shiny Happy People Inc. and the Mega Monarchs - walked away with honorable mention awards and medals.
"It was fun because we got to have fun with our friends," participant Sachi Johnson said. "It was a great experience going to nationals because we knew our game got that far. It was really cool that both of our teams won."
The Sally Ride TOYchallenge is a national toy design challenge for fifth- through eighth-graders. Anyone can participate, but there is one stipulation: teams must be composed of at least 50 percent girls.
The Mariposa teams were both made up of four fifth-graders and a coach: Shiny Happy People Inc., with Sachi Johnson, Summer Zofrea, Collin Green and Shea Macready, coached by Anita Macready; and Mega Monarchs, with Meg Rickard, Hogan Fenster, William Kumler and Brenna Philips, coached by Jon Fenster.
"It was a lot of fun getting to know each other better," Summer Zofrea said.
"We all got along really well and worked hard."
"We worked hard, but we messed around a lot, too," William Kumler said.
During TOYchallenge's preliminary round, the teams submitted written descriptions and visual presentations of their original toy or game concepts based on themed categories such as Games for the Family, Get Out and Play and Toys that Teach.
Shiny Happy People Inc. created "Global Challenge," a game that helps players learn about the world using fact and challenge cards collected while moving around the map-based board. The Mega Monarchs constructed "Rotation Station," a rotating board with two games on it: S.O.S. on one side, and Mousetard on the other.
Both were submitted under the Family Fun category.
"It was extraordinary," Anita Macready said. "It was so amazing, all of the sophisticated ideas they came up with. I would marvel at how adult-like their behavior could be, and then three seconds later they were children again."
"I was blown away by their originality," Jon Fenster said.
Hundreds of teams turned in proposals, but only 60 finalists were invited to nationals.
"I was so excited when my dad called and told me we made it," Hogan Fenster said. "I called Meg and she freaked."
"When I found out I screamed," Meg Rickard said. "It was our first year and we made it to nationals."
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think they'd make it to nationals," Anita Macready said. "None of us had done this before. When I got the e-mail, I almost fell out of my chair."
At nationals, the submissions were judged on originality, feasibility, team participation, creativity, engineering elegance, design process description and clarity of communication.
"Just making it that far was a great experience," Brenna Philips said. "We didn't have to win for me to be pleased."
The Mariposa teams were among the first to be judged, and "it was nerve-wracking," Collin Green said. "The judges would stare you in the eye, and being the first to be judged was scary."
Then, there was the wait afterwards, which William Kumler said "took forever."
Finally, it was announced that Shiny Happy People Inc. won honorable mention for presentation, and the Mega Monarchs won honorable mention for originality.
"It was exciting," Shea Macready said. "The whole experience was fun."
The only people who were more proud of the win than the kids were their parent coaches.
"It was a great experience to watch them," Jon Fenster said. "In the Mega Monarchs' case, they didn't know each other well. Watching them grow was wonderful. They really became a team at the end."
"They were so confident that both teams were going to make it," Anita Macready said. "There was a real spirit of entrepreneurship, and they never doubted themselves."
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