Brainiacs at Gray Elementary School Compete With Classmates While Having a Fun Learning Adventure

Team Quest challenges students in STEM while developing team-building and creativity skills.

Gray Elementary School students show off their project during the challenge.

If you think designing a catapult, having a Pokémon adventure and creating game cards sound like fun activities, you are not alone. These are a few of the challenges Gray Elementary School students took part in during Team Quest: The Ultimate Academic Challenge.

The unique competition has teams of four students show their ability to work together to successfully complete multiple challenges while using team-building strategies and higher-level thinking skills to solve problems.

The goal of the hands-on program is for students have a fun experience to apply their knowledge. At the same time, they discover they use the skills they learn into their everyday lives while incorporating their creativity and imagination along the way.

All the challenges are aligned with current TEKS standards with a heavy emphasis on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) education.

The Ultimate Challenge targets academically gifted and talented students.

The Team Quest program is ideal for students in third through 12th grade. It is designed around a different theme each year, with all projects and challenges centered on that particular theme.

Although challenges are centered on five core areas, curriculum based in the arts, music, history, geography, or physical competitions can also be incorporated. The theme is simply a way for the projects and challenges to be tied together in a fun and cohesive manner.

Team Quest in a box contains all the necessary materials and curriculum to host a competition at a campus. The easy-to-follow online tutorials guide everyone to successfully complete the competition.

Gray Elementary School Ultimate Challenge Activities Included …

Engineering — Gray Elementary School students designed a launching device to propel an object with enough force and speed to collapse a tower made with cardboard tubes.

Technology — Students took part in a Pokémon Challenge

Knowledge — Students competed in an Interactive Jeopardy Challenge (trivia).

Mathematics — Students calculated, measured and constructed game cards, solved word problems and measured game apparatuses.

Creativity — Gray Elementary School students drew and rendered color images for Lotería game cards (Lotería is a game of chance similar to bingo); they designed architectural spaces for businesses; students sculpted figurines for the launching devices.

Staff scored each event according to accuracy, event rubric guidelines and originality.

The school had five teams that received first, second and third place awards. They received Team Quest plaques, medals and trophies.

Greg Laufer made the experience at Gray Elementary School possible. The chief executive officer of Adventures in Learning awarded the campus a Team Quest kit valued at $750.00.

According to art teacher Wauna Johnson, the students had a great day of learning while having fun.

“The students enjoyed taking part in the challenges,” said Johnson. “So much so that everyone wants to do Team Quest again!”

Thank you Adventures in Learning for giving students this opportunity!