Spotlight Theatre, an interactive toy that teaches young learners how a spotlight works on stage, took home first-place as the judge’s choice in the Miner Creativity Challenge held in April at Missouri S&T.

The winning design was created by three seniors at Missouri S&T: Josie Schnelten, an engineering management major from Auburn, Illinois; Colby DaVolt, an electrical engineering major from Columbia, Missouri; and Grace Schlie, an environmental science major from Saint Charles, Missouri. The team won the $3,000 first-place scholarship prize. 

The challenge, launched in 2022, provides the opportunity for undergraduate and graduate student teams at S&T to design and build a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) toy that will engage students ages 8-11 and connect to the educational opportunities provided at S&T. 

The event is sponsored by Kummer Student Programs and S&T’s Product Innovation and Creativity Center, with S&T’s Makers Studio providing resources and logistical support for the competition. 

This is the first time the Miner Creativity Challenge has had a corporate sponsor: CONNECTIX. Cheyenne Raker Townson, a toy maker for the company, served as a judge, and each winning team received CONNECTIX build kits. The Spotlight Theatre team donated their build kit to S&T’s Child Development Center. 

“It’s an amazing experience for students to work like a designer on a product for an end user while getting feedback and professional advice,” says Dr. Rachel Kohman, assistant dean of entrepreneurship education. “Having an official toy designer give guidance to students is really helpful.” 

The “kids’ choice” first place award for the Bottle Beats team went to Hayden Krumpelman, a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering; Dalton Moss, a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and Charles Owen, a junior in aerospace engineering from Saint Charles, Missouri. Children playing with Bottle Beats can learn about the relationships needed to tune an air instrument, the general theory behind resonating sound and melodic note combinations. The team won a $1,000 scholarship. 

The “people’s choice” first place award for the Seismic Shuffle toy went to students Layne Albers, a sophomore chemical engineering major; Emily Byrd, a first-year student in architectural engineering from Little Rock, Arkansas; Madalyn Poor, a sophomore in physics from Pomona, Missouri, and Ana Guizer Sanchez, a first-year student in biomedical engineering.  

The Seismic Shuffle encourages kids to learn about tectonic plates. It includes a plastic base structure, which simulates the Earth’s crust and three sets of bendable plates (convergent, divergent and transform). The team won a $500 scholarship. 

Thank you to the event judges: 

• Cheyenne Raker Townson, CONNECTIX toy designer  

• Dr. Michael Davis, associate professor of economics 

• Justin Sanders, program director for K-12 district engagement and the Kummer 
  Center for STEM Education 

• Dr. Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, associate dean for academic affairs for the College 
  of Engineering and Computing  

• Dr. Klaus Woelk, associate dean for academic affairs for the College of Arts, 
  Sciences, and Education