Shields team heads to Odyssey world finals
When the AutoWater2011 worked on the first try, members of Shields Elementary School's Team Eureka were elated, but they held their breaths, trying hard to not show their excitement.
"I was crossing my fingers for it to work," said team member Melina Kotanides.
It worked and Team Eureka took second place in its Odyssey of the Mind state competition and will next compete in the world finals.
The team also took second place in regional competition, where they had some trouble getting the complex machine to work.
"It worked like 3 out of 10 times before," said team member Luke D'Ambrogi.
The team spent some time tweaking the design of the contraption, which was supposed to complete a simple task – watering plants – using the most complicated design possible.
"It worked perfectly this time, with two minutes to spare," said Camp Steiner.
Lee Lee Wilson said the team developed a pre-performance checklist, to help them ensure everything was in place before they started.
The teams had a time limit for their play in which they explained the development of their gadget and tried to sell it with infomercials and ad planes flying over the beach.
Team advisor Cheryl Baldwin said students were so excited when it worked in practice, coaches told them they had to hold back, so the judges wouldn't think it was a big deal that the machine worked. "You could see on their faces they were holding back," she said.
The students said they were excited to be at the state finals but nervous when a large crowd watched their performance.
Dylan Baldwin, who played a mad scientist in the play, said his favorite part of the day came between the spontaneous problem and the team performance, when the team took a break and played ultimate Frisbee.
Lee Lee Wilson said some of the judges joked around with students during the day, which helped break the tension.
Grier Calagione said, "I liked to watch the other people's performances to see what everyone else did."
Luke said the team's overall score fell by 34 points from the regional score.
Every team's score fell with the state judges, said Baldwin. "You just had no idea what to expect," she said.
Shields Principal Jenny Nauman said it was an honor to watch the team during the state competition, held at the University of Delaware Saturday, April 2. "As always, they made me very proud. All of their hard work and great thinking led to a perfect performance," she said.
Team Eureka won first place in its category for style, judged on the background and the inventor character in the play.
They created a beach scene, complete with a mobile of seagulls made from coat hangers, water bottles, tissue paper and loofah sponges, said Dylan.
"It was an amazing weekend. I can't wait for worlds and to have more fun," said Lee Lee.
World finals will be held Friday, May 27, through Monday, May 30, at the University of Maryland.
Baldwin said the team is raising money to defray the cost of traveling to the world finals. Anyone interested in contributing can contact the school at 645-7748.
