[ASTalumna06]

I was going to create a new thread, but... I'm so happy to see that one is already here!

I did OM from 2nd grade through 8th grade. I LOVED it.

My first year, I was in the primary competition. Our theme to work with was "Scientific Clowns". We had set up a classroom and the teacher was "the sun". I was the earth and I randomly stood up in the middle of class and started walking in circles around her. She asked, "What on earth are you doing?! (we were all creative like that). I replied, "It takes the earth 365 days to rotate around the sun." We also had clowns who represented magnets and would stick together, then fly apart throughout the performance. Entertaining.

After that, we always did the balsa wood structure problem. One of my team members, Jack, his dad was in construction and he taught us how to build structures like nobody's business. We had jigs, and widgets, and the superest of super glue. The most we ever held was 1000lbs with an 18 gram structure. I will never forget sanding and blow-drying the structure to get every last bit of weight off before the weigh-in at competition.

We actually made it to the World Competition in 1995 and 1996 at the University of Tennessee and the University of Iowa. In '95, the problem was called "A New Twist" and we had to twist the structure after every 50lbs (I think?) that was put onto it. We actually couldn't talk during our skit, which seemed to be a theme for the structure problem for at least a few years. Our performance was about two news reporters who kept seeing breaking news occur outside the window, and the structure represented the printing press that had to be stopped in order to report the breaking news.

The next year, the problem was called "Crunch"... and we could actually talk in that one! After every 50lbs that went on the structure, two billiard balls had to be released on ramps to hit the sides of the structure. Our performance was all about Jim Perdue and his egg-cellent egg dome factory. The two girls who released the billiard balls were dressed as chickens. It was hot. haha. We actually came in 9th that year... And we would have come in 8th if we had put the word "School" after "New Searles Elementary" on our membership sign, and not lost 2 points. Those judges were harsh!

And if anyone out there made it to the world competition, do you still have your pin towel??