MD Creative Problem Solvers/DI
Maryland Creative Problem Solvers Instant Challenge Library

Magically Musical

This is a hybrid (verbal/hands-on) challenge.

The Challenge:

Your team will build as many instruments as they would like out of the materials provided and present them in a three-minute skit.

The Scene:

The band at your high school thinks that they are going to a band competition, so they load all their instruments into a truck and head to the competition. When they arrive, they find out that they must present their music as part of a 3-minute play. Later they find out that the truck carrying the instruments broke down and they will have to perform with instruments they build with only the materials they can find get at a neighboring mall.

Materials:

Materials that can be altered Materials that can't be altered
10 spaghetti4 marbles
10 "ziti" (pasta)comb
6 strawsan empty coffee can
2 rubber bands1 unsharpened pencil
1 sheet notebook paper
5 washers
4 2" bolts
4 matching "nuts"
1 12" piece of wax paper
1 sheet construction paper (8.5 x 11)
5 index cards
1 paper cup
1 paper plate
4 mailing labels

1 12" piece of string

Directions

You will have 5 minutes to design your instruments and plan and practice your skit. You must "feature"(must be an important part of the skit) 1 instrument in the skit. At the end of the 5-minutes, or when your team is ready, you will have 3 minutes to perform the skit. Prior to performing for the judges, you must tell them which instrument you are "featuring" and the judges will give you an object that you must incorporate into skit without any additional discussion.

Scoring:

5 points for each instrument that is used in the skit
5 points for each full minute of the presentation
20 points for the originality of the featured instrument
20 points for the incorporation of the "mystery object" into the skit
20 points for the creativity of the use of materials in the featured instrument
25 points for the overall quality of the skit
25 points for teamwork