Flaming Geysers

Like last year, Aubree had a great opportunity to participate in the Destination Imagination program.  Most of the kids from last year's group stayed together, with a couple personnel changes.  This time around, they chose to pursue a "technical challenge," which required that they build a creature that used technical methods to perform three different actions, and present a story of adventure with the creature as a character.  And just like last year, parents aren't allowed to help or provide suggestions.  

The kids named their team the "Flaming Geysers," and their adventure story revolved around a sick wolf family who desperately needed a "Keepa Seed" in order to be healed.  The Keepa Seed was guarded by a ferocious lion, who makes them perform a serious of ridiculous stunts to obtain the seed.  

Aubree helping the "Evil Tree" into his costume

Saturday was the culmination of their months of planning and preparing.  They were the last team to perform, full of excitement and nerves, but when they went to get their creature (Mr. Wolf), they discovered that a portable wall in the staging/props area had fallen on him and knocked off his head!

Mr. Wolf - prior to his tragic accident

The kids handled this unexpected set-back with remarkable calm and resilience.  Lots and lots of tape, and numerous adjustments to their original plans later, they walked on stage and performed their skit with smiles and enthusiasm.  The gentleman introducing their team accidentally called them the "Flaming Geezers," which provided a good laugh for the kids and the audience and helped dissipate some of the tension.

As they said their final lines, though, Mr. Wolf's jerry-rigged head fell off.  One of the cast members, ZZ, jumped in, proclaiming, "and he was so excited his daughters were healed, his head exploded!"

The girls in the group: Aubree, ZZ, Lena, & Kira

Overall, the group got 8th out of 12 teams.  Aubree was disappointed in that result, as she was hoping to improve on last year's performance.  However, their group also received the DI Spirit Award.  Only one team in the entire tournament gets this award, and they received it as a result of their "dedication, teamwork, perseverance, and 'show-must-go-on' attitude" following their creature's decapitation. 

I'm proud of the whole group for how well they worked together.  They had a very strong "don't help us!" attitude, and really did every single thing on their own.  In the last few weeks, Aubree really stepped up and took on a leadership role in the group and that was a lot of fun to watch.  They're already making plans for how to improve in next year's competition.