Florida Catholic | Students’ “Make–A–Splash” Game Floats To The Top

Students’ “Make–A–Splash” game floats to the top

St. Mary Magdalen School students capture the grand prize in the 2008 National Sally Ride Science Toy Challenge.

DEBRA TOMASELLI | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 07.03.08

AquaGamers (left to right) Ethan Brennan, Lauren Nunez, Anna Burtbank, Shandy Sulen, Sarah Joyce and Tucker Smith pose with their “Make–A–Splash” game. Players draw from a stack of laminated cards and, answering water safety questions or performing swimming skills, advance through a maze of colorful bottle caps. The first to reach the finish line wins.
Courtesy Photo

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS | Are you supposed to bring electrical cords into the pool? Should you swim when it’s thundering?

These are the some of the questions you can expect to answer in the “Make-A-Splash” game developed by St. Mary Magdalen Catholic School students, which captured the grand prize in the 2008 National Sally Ride Science Toy Challenge in Alexandria, Va.

Sixth-grade students Ethan Brennan, Anna Burbank, Sarah Joyce, Lauren Nunez, Shandy Sulen and Tucker Smith, known collectively as the team AquaGamers, entered the May 17 national competition to design a toy when their enrichment teacher, Debbie Gordon, announced the contest.

“We thought it sounded like a lot of fun,” said team member Sarah. “We knew we wanted to create an outside game. Since it’s really hot in Florida and we like to swim, we came up with lots of ideas.”

The group considered developing a floating pool swing or a waterproof television set but decided to invent a floating board game that taught water safety skills.

The Make-A-Splash game board rests inside an inverted plastic garbage can lid. Players draw from a stack of laminated cards and, answering water safety questions or performing swimming skills, advance through a maze of colorful bottle caps. The first to reach the finish line wins.

Developing the floatable game required perseverance. The students rolled up their sleeves, but their first attempts failed.

“We tried to put insulation in a trash can lid and it didn’t work,” said AquaGamer Ethan. “Then we used plastic and it cracked too easily.”

Discouraged, the team members struggled to meet competition deadlines. If they couldn’t submit a viable prototype by a certain date, they’d have to come up with another idea, and quickly.

Finally, they discovered Plexiglas, which cut easily and sealed inside the lid. And when the device sailed across Ethan’s pool successfully, the AquaGamers knew they’d advance to the next level.

“It was hard work,” said Sarah. “It took a lot of work and a lot of thought.”

For months, the students arrived early to class and stayed late. They researched Internet sites and Red Cross information about water safety. They created laminated game cards and generated instructional questions.

“They were determined to succeed,” said Gordon.

Their design survived two rounds of judging by scientists and engineers nationwide. Out of 400 teams, only 111 received invitations to nationals. And when named East Coast grand-prize winners, the AquaGamers threw their visors into the air in exhilaration. They and the West Coast winners, the South Pole Patrol from Brighton, Mich., received round-trip flights to anywhere in the continental United States, trophies, certificates and medals.

Tucker said the experience inspired him. “I learned that if you think of something and you believe you can do it, you can do it,” he said.

Ethan agreed. “If you try your hardest and believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.”

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Students’ “Make–A–Splash” game floats to the top

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