"CyberSurfari was a great activity for our students," said team supervisor Michael Lipinski, Erving Elementary School, Franklin, Mass. "We had just installed a schoolwide ISDN connection to the Internet in September. CyberSurfari allowed us to give some of our students an intensive, hands-on introduction to the World Wide Web. The puzzles required these students to use their reading and thinking skills in a fun way."

More than 1000 school teams competed for first, second and third place in the K-8 and high school competitions. Whiteside Area Vocational Center, Whiteside County, Ill., took first place in the high school competition, with two separate school teams from Berrien County Math and Science Center close behind in second and third.

In the K-8 competition, Rocky Run Middle School, Fairfax, Virg., landed first place with Lake Alfred Middle School, Lake Alfred, Fla., on its heels taking second place and Erving Elementary School finishing a strong third. First-place winners in both school competitions receive $5,000, second-place winners $2,500 and third-place winners $1,000. The prize money must be used to upgrade the schools' technology. All students on the winning teams will receive T-shirts and each winning team will receive a trophy.

"I thought it was fun because you used the Internet," said Brodey Baldwin, fifth-grade cyberhunter from Erving Elementary School, Franklin, Mass. "It was fun to see other people on my team get points. Sometimes we couldn't find the answers, but most of them we found. I like using the Internet because there are so many places to go."

"As an advisor, I was pleased with the improvements this year, especially the instant feedback as to how many treasure codes had been found," said Keith Calkins, team supervisor from Berrien County Math & Science Center. "The reduced number [of required clues to complete the contest], 75 vs. 90, helped ameliorate those problems with down or late starting hosts. Our second-place team members were juniors; they will be back again next year." Calkins and his students also participated in CyberSurfari '95, where he led his team to a second-place victory in the high school competition.