Odyssey of the Mind March 29

Odyssey of the Mind Challenges Students' Creative Talents

Students will test their problem solving abilities at the Odyssey of the Mind (OM) competition on March 29, at Fossil Ridge High School, 5400 Ziegler Road. The competition, which is open to the public, will kick-off at 9 a.m. with a hat parade.

This year, 82 teams representing 21 schools will participate.  Team members range from kindergarten through junior high and each team will be judged on its long-term problem solution, spontaneous problem-solving skills and style. The program teaches students to solve problems creatively, emphasizing the idea that there is no one “right” answer. 

Students working in teams, of five to seven students, will compete in the problem-solving competition that challenges students to think outside the box. For the past few months, students have been learning creative thinking and problem solving techniques, as well as teamwork skills, while tackling long-term and spontaneous problems.

The long term problems challenging the teams this year include:

• Odyssey Road Rally,  where the teams design and build a vehicle;
• DinoStories, which challenges them to create an original humorous performance to explain the extinction of dinosaurs;
• The Wonderful Muses, where teams create an original performance around one of the nine Greek Muses;
• Tee Structure,  this year’s balsa wood problem where the teams design and build a balsa structure that hold the most weight balanced on golf balls; and 
• The Eccentrics, where teams are asked to create a humorous performance.
•  Rude Awakenings, where a character keeps waking up in a different place or time from where it fell asleep.  

For more information, contact Candi Beri OM Co-Director at 488-5770.