Toy Team Advances to Nationals

Allison Brustofski, Kacie Dubuque, and Gilbert Smolenski, eighth grade Workshop students, were selected to advance to the Sally Ride Science TOY challenge Nationals. TOY challenge is national toy design challenge for 5th-8th graders. Over 2000 students and 400 teams nationwide spent months brainstorming, researching, designing, building, and testing their creation. In the process, teams developed teamwork, self-confidence, and an understanding of the engineering design process.

The team will present their prototype of their entry in the Toys that Teach category at the East Coast Nationals. Their toy, Write Rite, teaches basic writing skills in a fun, innovative way. Their entry was inspired by a relative of one of the team members who is developmentally challenged.

The students felt very strongly about meeting the needs of children to successfully learn and play. The students visited classrooms for students with developmental disabilities and interviewed their teachers. They researched the developmental stages of child development and levels of emerging writing skills. They also consulted with the Director of Special Services for the Oakland Public Schools.

This year the East Coast Nationals will be held at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia on Saturday, May 17, 2008. The students and their coach, Judith Vihonski, are looking forward to the competition. The grand prize winner will receive an invitation to Space Camp® in Huntsville, Alabama and a jigsaw puzzle trophy for the team. Each team member will also receive a Star Trophy and 2007 TOY challenge medal.