Seven sixth-grade students from Diana DeFriez's class at Layton Elementary School have learned that few if any problems are unsolvable, if people use teamwork and brains.
The seven students are planning to compete in an international brain-teaser contest May 30 through June 2 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.They were first-place winners April 4 in the robotichumor division in a statewide "Odyssey of the Mind" contest at Orem High School. They competed with sixth, seventh and eighth graders from 23 schools throughout Utah.
DeFriez said she took six teams of seven students at Layton Elementary to Orem and they captured not only the first-place award, but two second-place awards and one third-place trophy.
Her first place team of seven includes Danielle Nuttall, Lisa Bowers, Connie McAtee, Dan Anderson, Brooks Smith, Lee Crookston and Matt Stevenson.
"They had only four months to solve one of several problems presented by the `Odyssey of the Mind' directors," DeFriez said. "This particular group picked a problem which they solved by creating an electronic robot - a bear named Frederick - that stands about four feet tall and can make six different facial expressions and clap his hands and move his feet."
She said the students had to think up a six-minute skit in which Frederick is a star and several of the other seven students act.
"The students thought up everything and did everything, from building Frederick to designing and painting the sets and writing the script for the skit. The only thing I could do was bring specialists into the classroom to show the students how to solder electronic parts, for instance, put on makeup, make costumes and act on a stage."
Frederick sits on a couch during the skit and talks to Smith, who plays a nerd.
Through the use of lights, from the top of the bear's head to his face, the bear manages to look bored, happy and sad, and to smile, frown and become so happy he cries. When he gets a big idea, the light on Frederick's head goes on.
"The students can't touch Frederick but can only manipulate a control box that activates the lights," DeFriez said. "A hydraulic apparatus operates the bear's arms and allows him to clap his hands, which causes his feet and legs to move and shake."
In addition to the skit, the students also will have to answer, spontaneously, a question put to them by judges.