Five Cape teams heading to Odyssey of the Mind world finals
After strong performances in the Odyssey of the Mind state contest in March, five Cape district teams are heading to the world finals competition May 24-27 in East Lansing, Mich.
OM is a collaborative problem-solving competition that focuses on STEM, the arts and history. Students must solve spontaneous problems through creative responses or hands-on, quick projects, and long-term problems that include performing skits or creating weight-bearing structures.
To keep the playing field even, teams are restricted to a $135 cost limit for all materials used during the presentation of their solution, and each performance, including setup, is limited to eight minutes. Teams are also given a spontaneous problem to solve that is verbal, hands-on or a combination of both.
Cape teams began practicing in mid-November, and relied on brainstorming, creative thinking and compromise. Each team crafted their costumes and sets under the cost limit and are now working to fine-tune their performance ahead of the world contest.
The Rehoboth Elementary Tide Pool Puzzlers said they chose their name because they live by the beach and OM is all about solving puzzles. The team tackled “The Walls of Troy” problem, and had to create a skit, including three songs, depicting characters that use a team-created Trojan horse to get past a wall.
The Rehoboth Beach Brainiacs chose the “Because I Can” problem, which asked students to overcomplicate a simple task. The team said they used “pure imagination” to build their dog-feeding machine and create a skit describing the procedure.
The Lewes Elementary Six Super Sailors tackled the “Pirates and the Treasure” problem, in which a group of pirates had to build a ship and fight a sea monster to reclaim treasure and return it to the queen. Teammates say they learned to trust each other, work together and realized that their idea is not always the one that gets chosen.
The aptly named Milton Elementary Most Dramatic Kids chose “The Most Dramatic Problem Ever!” to showcase their acting skills and camaraderie. The humorous performance involved a very dramatic character that overreacts to a series of events, one of which is justified.
The Brains of Beacon didn’t know each other at all until they joined forces to work on the “Walls of Troy” problem, and quickly became close friends and strategists. Team members say they are carrying their drive to win with them to Michigan.
Estimated cost per student to attend the world finals is $1,500, so teams are trying to raise $50,000 to help all students with registration fees, room/board and airfare. To contribute, go to 99pledges.com/fund/capeodysseyofthemind. Donations must be received by Monday, May 1.
