A team of students from Oak View Middle School has qualified for the finals of the TOY Challenge, a national competition sponsored by the Sally Ride Science Foundation and Hasbro Toys. The purpose of the contest is to encourage middle school students to learn more about science, engineering and the design process by developing toys and games.

The six students made it to the finals with ‘Tomata World,’ a board game in which a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ team try to be the first to reach ‘Larry the Evil Tomato Emperor.’ The students and their coach, science teacher Phil Riley, are now trying to raise money so the team can travel to San Diego on April 21 and 22 to compete against the 150 other teams that made it to the national competition. The ultimate prize is a trip to NASA Space Camp in Alabama and the chance to see their game produced by Hasbro.

“I’m so proud of them,” said Riley. “I knew they had put together a good package that was well thought out and presented. I was just thrilled when we got the news.”

Team members Solange Coughlin, Emily Russell, Robin Hawes, Hannah Reynolds, and Erin Sturm, who are all eighth graders, and seventh-grader Ryan Estevez have spent months developing and refining their game. Most of the work has been done after school—the team even gave up two full days of their Spring Break to work on the project.

The students say there were plenty of conflicts throughout the creative process, but they believe that made their game better.

“We disagreed about everything, but when we argued we came up with new ideas,” said Hawes.

“We did work best when we argued,” agreed Coughlin.

To compete at the national level, the Oak View students have had to do more than develop the game. They’ve also had to study manufacturing techniques, research existing games, even hone their computer graphics skills, all to make their game more appealing and ultimately more marketable. They’re also practicing their communication skills so they’ll be prepared to pitch their game to the judges.

Most importantly, says Riley, the students are learning the value of working as a team. Riley says he uses his background as a NASA engineer to reinforce that message.

“The astronauts on the space shuttle are the end of the road,” he said. “It took hundreds of people to get that shuttle ready to go, and these kids are learning that.”

Through various fundraising activities, the students have managed to raise about half of the $5000 they need to make the trip to the TOY Challenge in San Diego, but time is running out for them to raise the rest of the funds. Anyone interested in making a contribution can send a check to Oak View Middle School or contact Riley at the school at 472-1102 or through e-mail at rileypj@sbac.edu.