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That worked, and the seven children continued quietly watching themselves at the state Destination ImagiNation tournament last month at Towson University solve the crime of who kidnapped a singing, duct-tape vested president. (It was Abraham Lincoln, of course, but more on that later.)

The team’s first-place performance in the elementary school division, a month after winning their regional tournament, secured a spot in the global finals, a scheduled for the end of May in Knoxville, Tenn. Two more Montgomery County teams, one from Gaithersburg Middle School, the other consisting of students from Eastern, North Bethesda, Takoma Park and Westland middle schools, advanced to the global finals. A team from Benjamin Banneker Middle School in Burtonsville finished third in its challenge, narrowly missing out on the global finals.

‘‘It was a lot of work, but it was worth every minute,” said Lori Anderson, Edge’s mother, who coached the Burtonsville Elementary team along with Carol Bazis.

Destination ImagiNation involves groups of five to seven students solving a challenge meeting certain requirements, while using teamwork, creativity and a $150 budget. The teams are divided into elementary, middle and high school divisions. Adults cannot offer any help; they can only supervise.

The Burtonsville team — Edge, Nick Bazis, Josh Doane-Malotte, Austin Williams, Stephanie Woodson, Kaitlyn Chitvaranund and Aman Anand — chose the ‘‘CSI:DI” challenge back in October, which meant creating an original skit where a crime was committed and solved, all in eight minutes.

The team met weekly at Anderson’s home, first covering her living room with sticky notes as they tried to reach a consensus on a skit. They decided on the White House after reading about all its amenities in the newspaper. ‘‘It’s a cool place for a crime,” Woodson said.

Next, they developed a script: The president (Edge, who sang all of his lines), stressed out from his daily work, decides to hold a bowling⁄costume party. Among the invitees are Queen Elizabeth and George Washington (Woodson and Bazis, who renew the British-American rivalry of Colonial times), Sandra Day O’Connor (Chitvaranund, who plays the peacemaker, naturally) and Lincoln (Williams, whose stovepipe hat and beard nearly obscure his face). When the president goes missing during the party, his two bodyguards (Doane-Malotte and Anand, wearing black suits and sunglasses) find clues and determine who kidnapped their boss.

‘‘I like the humor in the whole thing,” Doane-Malotte said.

The team then built the set, often meeting twice a week from December until the regional competition in March. They built a miniature working bowling alley, a painted wooden box with ‘‘pins” made of empty 2-liter soda bottles raised and lowered by fishing lines snaked through the top of the box. They constructed a scoreboard on top of the bowling lane that lit up as each party guest bowled. They made a disco ball that distracted everyone long enough for Lincoln to nab the president and a light-up bowling ball covered in ‘‘fingerprints,” which the bodyguards used to determine Lincoln had not bowled and therefore kidnapped the president. They also wove a red, white and blue ‘‘Oval Office Tapestry” that served as a banner for their skit.

Team members said it was a lot of work, but they had experience. The students performed together last year as third-graders but did not make it out of the regional competition.

This year, even though Williams and Edge now attend Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, the team stayed together. Parents noticed an increase in their children’s confidence level, how they said their lines with stronger voices and moved on stage with authority.

‘‘It’s amazing just to see them blossom,” said Jas Anand, Aman’s mother.

In addition to first place at the state competition, the team’s work was also honored with the Renaissance Award, given to only one team for outstanding design, engineering and performance. The team received medals for both honors, which they excitedly displayed once the DVD ended.

Said Lis Doane, Josh’s mother: ‘‘Enthusiasm is not one of their problems.”