Given the current emphasis on learning foreign languages in the school district, it seems only natural that a group of bright Oxford Elementary students decided to finally break the species barrier and learn how to communicate like guinea pigs.
But fear not, there’s no classroom full of wood chips or a furry little teacher on the payroll at OES.
The activity was actually part of the Destination ImagiNation Regional Tournament held Feb. 28 at Waterford Mott High School.
Jeffrey Denninger, Nick Hershman, Lily Sublett, Casey Conley, Katie Guthrie, Josephine Cates and Max Cates participated in the competition which fosters creativity, teamwork and problem-solving.
Participants choose one of six team challenges to solve over an 8-12 week period.
The OES team chose a challenge called ‘Instinct Messaging,? in which they had to create an original story that demonstrated two real methods of communication used by a creature of their choosing.
They had to then design and build a costume that communicated a message and a three-dimensional set that depicted a real-life habitat of their creature.
Using a guinea pig as their creature of choice, the OES team constructed three guinea pig costumes, one of which was equipped with a special contraption that made the back hair shoot up whenever a lever was pulled by the wearer.
‘It was ingenuous,? said parent Mindy Denninger, who served as the team’s manager.
The team’s story involved three guinea pigs escaping from their cage into the real world where they encounter a dog and a lawn mower.
Guinea pig noises and actions, like running in circles, were used to communicate along with the hair-raising costume, which ultimately scared the dog away.
To add a little bit of drama to the story, the guinea pigs encountered a lawn mower, but escaped unscathed.
‘They didn’t get chopped up or anything,? Denninger said.
Overall, the OES team ranked ninth out of 17 competitors.
‘They did respectably well considering they’re a first-year team,? Denninger said.