Imaginations Run Wild for Walt Disney Competition - Olin ...

... took home the bronze — out of more than 360 original entries — from Walt Disney Imagineering's annual Imaginations Design Competition, ... HomeImaginationsRunWildforWaltDisneyCompetition MediaContacts Forpressinquiriesandothernews-relatedquestionspleaseclickhere.ReadMore Olininthenews Forrecentmediacoveragepleaseclickhere.ReadMore MediaContacts Forpressinquiriesandothernews-relatedquestionspleaseclickhere.ReadMore Olininthenews Forrecentmediacoveragepleaseclickhere.ReadMore ShareThisPageemailfacebooklinkedintwittergoogle+pinterest ReturnToNews ImaginationsRunWildforWaltDisneyCompetition 04March,Monday AteamofOlinstudentsjusttookhomethebronze—outofmorethan360originalentries— fromWaltDisneyImagineering’sannualImaginationsDesignCompetition,whichwascreated28yearsagotoseekoutandnurturefuturegenerationsofWaltDisneyImagineers. Imagineers,forthoseunfamiliarwiththeterm,arethecreativeforcesbehindDisneythemeparks,resortsandattractions;theydreamupanddesignmagicalexperiencesandbringthemtolife.BecomingoneofthemhasbeenacareergoalforOlinstudentMJMcMillen sinceshewasakindergartner.DuringafamilytriptoDisneyWorld,she’dhoppedaboardtheMagicCarpetsofAladdinride.Itwasmagicaltopretendtoflyaroundonacarpet,anditwasevenbettertoseearoboticcamelcometolifeandsquirtwaterathermother.“IsaidIwantedtobeaflyingcarpetmechanicwhenIgrewup,”shesays. Theallureofworkinginanimatronicshasn’tdiminishedforMcMillen.WhenDisneyannounceditsdesigncompetitionchallengelastAugust,shejumpedatthechanceandformedateamwithclassmatesEricMillerandBenjaminZiemann,whoisalsoeagertoexploreImagineeringasacareer. Thisyear’scompetitionpromptchallengedstudentstoconceptualizeanexperiencethatwouldletfamiliesexploreaNaturalorAncientWonderoftheWorld.Participantshadtoconsiderhowguestscouldexperiencethewonderasagroupneartheoriginalpresumedlocation,andneedtotakeintoaccounttechnologysolutionsthatallowtheexperiencestobeshared.These“bluesky”conceptsaren’tintendedtobebuiltbyDisney,butratherarewaysforstudentstodemonstratetheirstorytellingskillsandcreativeabilities. TheOlinteamspentthenextfewmonthsenvisioningtheKiiġuyaruqExpress,afive-day,wintertimetrainjourneystartinginAnchorageandextendingfarnorthtosomeofthemostinaccessibleandsecludedregionsintheworld.Oneachdayofthejourney,thetrainstopsatthesiteofahistoricaleventorculture,whereguestsdisembarkintoarecreatedvisionofthepast.Theycanusetheirpersonal,magicalcompassestoactasagentsoftheNorthernLights,assistingthepeopletheymeetwithvariousproblems,whilecollectingmemories. Duringthedevelopmentprocess,McMillensteppedoutofhercomfortzoneasaroboticsengineertocreateartworkillustratingthetrainjourney.Ziemannfocusedoncomputer-aideddesignanddraftingmodelingandrenderingsoftheKiiġuyaruqExpress,whileMillermadeaprototypeofthecompass. IntypicalOlinfashion,theteamwentthroughmanyiterationsbeforetheylandedonaconceptthattheyfeltconfidentin.Whileitwouldbeeasytogetcarriedawayintopurefantasyland,theyfeltitwasimportantthattheirproposalwasphysicallypossible–exceptforthemagicpart,ofcourse.Sotheyconsidered,“WhatisthepowersourceforactualtraincarsinAlaska?Isthereanenvironmentallyfriendlywaytogetenoughpower?Istherecellservice?” “Ittiedtogetherengineeringanddesigninareallyinterestingway,”saysMiller.“Wewentback andforth,askingourselves,Whatmakesthemostcompellingexperiencebutwouldbephysicallypractical?” Afterinitialroundsofjudging,theOlinteamwaschosenasafinalist.TheywereflownouttoWaltDisneyImagineeringinCalifornia,wheretheypresentedtheirproject,alongwithfiveotherteams,infrontofImagineersandDisneyexecutives.  Whentheygotthecall,theywereoverthemoon.Notonlywouldtheyhavethechancetocompeteagainstthenation’sothertopteamsandseehowtheyinterpretedtheprompt,butthey’dalsogettonetworkwithImagineers,gobehindthescenestoseehowDisneymagiciscreatedandinterviewforpaidinternshipsduringtheirvisit. Astheypreparedfortheirpresentation,theydecidedtoembracetheiruniquepositionastechnicalengineersinthedesign-centriccompetition.Theybuiltandprogrammedafunctionalcompass,completewithGPSsoftware,whichcapturesphotosandallowsotherstointeractwiththeminrealtime.Duringtheirpresentation,theywalkedthroughtheaudiencewiththecompass,takingpicturesthatappearedonascreenbehindthem,todemonstratehowapassenger’sphotomightappearsomewhereonthetrain,asasharedexperience. Judgesespeciallylikedhowtheteamcapturedtheromanceofjourneysandtraveling,andhowblendingtrainsandmemoriescapturedtheessenceoffamilyvacationsandadventure.Theywereawardedthirdplace. MeetingImagineersandlearningabouttheresearchanddevelopmentsideofitwasahighlightforallthree.“Ialwaysthoughtofanimatronicsasshowsandrides,butIlearnedhowmuchgoesintoit—itwasincredible,”saysZiemann. “Thereweresomanykindsofrobotsandusesforthem,Iwasamazed—itwasevenbetterthanIthought,”saysMcMillen.“IwishIcouldgethiredamilliontimesover,soIcanexploreeverywildandcrazyideatobringittolife.” AcademicCalendars 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 Wanttopostanevent? PleasecompletethisFORMtohaveyourgroupactivityaddedtothecalendar.