Ty Pennington and his design team, including new designers Xzibit and Jillian Harris, traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, to surprise the students of Boys Hope/Girls Hope in a unique way and reveal to them that their lives were about to change. For the first time in the history of the show, the recipients were surprised on live television when the "EM: HE" team greeted the students with the good news. Another first in the show's 170-plus episode history came unannounced, courtesy of Mother Nature, when an epic rainstorm threatened to knock the 11,000 square foot build off its strict seven-day schedule. Adding to the excitement, drama and fun of the build was the participation of the kids from the Emmy Award-winning comedy "Modern Family" (Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriquez), actress Raven-Symon, basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal and music sensation Katy Perry.