‘Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of the imagination.? ? John Dewey
Someday mankind may build a research station on the moon and have the imaginations of three Oxford Elementary students to thank for it.
Calling themselves ‘The Lunar Lunatics,? fifth-graders Savannah Holloway, Chase Janssen and James Russ took first place at the 9th Annual Imagineers competition held Jan. 21 at Summit Place Mall in Pontiac.
Sponsored by the Construction Specifications Institute (an organization of architects, engineers and suppliers in the construction industry) and local Optimist Clubs, Imagineers is a design-build contest for fifth-graders.
Working in teams of three, the contestants decide on a problem to solve or need to fill, then design a model and build it using simple, everyday items and their imaginations.
‘The Lunar Lunatics? competed against 68 other teams from 32 public and private schools in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties.
Armed with a bag full of ordinary household items and building toys called K’NEX, the OES students built a model of a lunar station, which would enable scientists to stay on the moon longer to conduct research and experiments.
The station included a laboratory, telescope, beds to grow plants, kitchen, sleeping area, ‘lunar car? complete with garage, radar system, food transporter and bathroom area.
Powered by the sun, an old CD represented solar panels used to collect energy for the station, which is then stored in cells represented by empty film canisters.
‘I thought they had a really good chance (of winning) because it was so detailed and well-engineered,? said fifth-grade teacher Mary Kraniak, adviser to the school’s three Imagineers teams.
One of things that separated ‘The Lunar Lunatics? from their competitors was the fact they clearly identified each and every part of the station.
‘One of the engineers said ours was the best communicated project,? Kraniak said. ‘The kids made it a point to label all of their parts. That helped the judges figure out what was what.?
Each member of the first place team received a $50 gift certificate that can be spent anywhere at Summit Place Mall.
Two other teams from Oxford Elementary also competed in Imagineers with ingenious ideas to help solve the world’s problems.
‘The Super Solvers? ? consisting of Krystal Tucker, Jessica Ojeda and Kirsten Zielinski ? created a mobile water purifier that digs for, cleans and stores groundwater.
Consisting of Madison Littmann, Rachael Crain and Brannon Zochert, the ‘Earth Atmosphere Technology? team (or E.A.T. for short) also created a water purification system, but theirs emits ozone as part of the process to help plug holes in the Earth’s ozone layer.