Destination: Global Competition Of The Mind

A group of Howell seventh-graders have conquered New Jersey. Now they’re setting their sights on Global Domination.

The five Howell students -- Raymond Luberto, Seneca Giachetti, Izabella Patrizio, Kasey Darrah, and Katie O’Sullivan -- make up the team called Tek Toys. Last month, they beat out 12 teams from around New Jersey to win the Destination Imagination state tournament. That victory earned the team and their robot, Louie, a trip to the Destination Imagination Global Finals at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., in May.

Destination Imagination, which combines STEM skills, the arts and service learning with creativity and problem-solving through various competitions around the United States and in 14 other countries, according to the Destination Imagination website. The goal, the website states, is “to inspire and equip students to become the next generation of innovators and leaders.”

Destination Imagination includes six different challenges, from scientific to fine arts, from improvisational to service projects. There’s even a challenge geared toward the youngest children, called “Early Learning/Rising Stars.” The youngest participants are kindergartners, while the oldest are college-age, according to the website.

The Howell team, Tek Toys, took on the technical challenge called “Creature Feature.” It required them to create a ”creature” that had to perform three separate technical actions. They also had to create a world and a story of adventure. Their world had to have two technical features in it. Their story could be anything they could dream up, but it had to use their creature as a main character.

From September to March the five worked on their project, practiced in garages, dining rooms, and office space. They built their own set, including backdrop, jail, and homes for their characters who lived in “Toy Town.” They created a robot, complete with a pneumatic arm, hydraulic head, and an electrical LED panel and named it Louie.

At the New Jersey state competition on March 21, the group performed its challenge solution. Characters from Toy Town were taken to prison by an evil toy soldier. Their trusty friend Louie helped them escape by using his pneumatic arm to get the key and bring it to his friends.

The state tournament hosted 153 teams overall, with 13 teams including Tek Toys in the technical challenge.

The team is not affiliated with any school or the town, supporters said, and is planning fundraisers to pay for the trip to Tennessee.

The team is completely independent and does not receive assistance from the town or a school, supporters said. They will be holding fundraisers around Howell to raise money for their tournament expenses, but in the meantime they have set up a GoFundMe page. They also have a Facebook page, here.