Odyssey of the Mind is a team creative problem solving competition.
There are three areas of the competition in which a team can acquire
points. The first area, long-term, is worth 200 points. A team (of 5-7
people) chooses one of 5 problems. The problems typically entail an 8
minute solution to a set of guidelines, and usually include some sort of
dramatic presentation. There is always a drama problem based on the
Classics of art, literature, music, or the like. Two other constants
are a balsa wood structure-building problem, in which the structure must
hold as much weight as possible, and a vehicle problem, in which a
vehicle or vehicles must be constructed to perform certain tasks. The
4th problem is typically a generic drama-based problem, while the 5th is
a wildcard, typically an engineering-type problem, though not always.
The team usually works on the long-term solution for several months
before the regional competition. (In Division IV, there is only the
world competition.)
Style is the second area for point gain. Worth 50 points, this category
is based on the long-term solution, and typically scores the creativity
of elements such as costumes, scenery, and props.
Spontaneous competition is worth 100 points. 5 members of the team
enter a room with a panel of judges. They are then posed a question,
given a short time to think, and must answer the question or solve
the problem within a short period as creatively as possible. A sample
problem might be to name all the uses for a Pink Pearl eraser. A team
might answer that it is a rocket ship for ants or that it can erase
the old name on a recycled love note. The answers are scored according
to creativity, typically 1 point for ordinary, 3 points for creative,
and 5 points for very creative.
Division I
In 5th grade, I was selected to be on the first OM team from my elementary
school. Also chosen were Amy Wheaton, Amy Windover, Leslie Mesch, and 3
others. Our coaches were one of the 3rd grade teachers, Mrs. Steed, and
Sharon Dionne. For a first time team, we did pretty well - 3rd at state
in the Camelot
problem. We had to maneuver blindfolded around a course and complete
certain tasks while being guided with noise commands by an unblindfolded
person in the center.
Division II
In sixth grade we got a new coach and worked on the Big Top
problem. Our play featured a circus of undersea rejects, including
the Chicken of the Sea as MC, a mer-worm, a two-headed turtle, and a
trashfish. We only got 5th at state. Needless to say, we got Mrs. Dionne
back as our coach the next year.
In 7th grade, we found a new 5th person for our team, Anna Fidler, and did
the Great
Art Lives problem, concentrating on VanGogh's `Still Life with
Potatoes' (we did a potato comedic murder mystery) and `Wheat Field with
Crows' (I think those are the titles). We got 3rd at state again.
Eighth grade added Eartha Melzer to our team, and we worked on the Poetic
License problem with William Blake's `The Tyger.' This was our first
attempt at a serious and symbolic solution, and it was the first time we
won state competition. We went on to worlds at Central Michigan
University, and won 10th place.
Division III
In 9th grade, we won state OM again in the It's
Showtime problem with Ionesco's `The Rhinoceros.' We created a musical
synopsis of the play, including interweaving melodies and conversations,
as in the cafe scene which opens the play. We also used slides of
surrealist art to convey some of the absurdities and double-meanings in
the play. We traveled to worlds at the University of Maryland, and after
many adventures, including lost slides which totalled about 2 minutes of
our 8 minute play, we won 4th place.
In 10th grade, the OM problem was Ye'
Gods. We added Sarah Jaquish to the team to replace Eartha, who was
studying in Germany. We had a kick-ass play based on the greek myth of
Zeus and Prometheus (I AM ZOOOOS! - I'll put the script Leslie wrote up
here one of these days - it's rather funny.) Our play was done as a spoof
of infomercials and a salute to those who, throughout history, have dared
to be persecuted in order to better the world. We lost at state by 7
points to the other team from our high school. We still kind of feel
robbed since they went to worlds at U of Colorado, Boulder, and got
26th.
11th grade was our year to shine in OM. The problem was based on the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World. We had to choose one to rebuild and 5
replacements for the rest. We chose zero, the alphabet, chaos theory, the
Fibonacci sequence, and quantum mechanics as our new wonders of the world,
while others chose things like McDonalds and the Statue of Liberty. We
got to worlds at Iowa State University and won the entire competition.
We were psyched!
12th grade was a difficult year. We added two new team members, Linnaea
and Holly, and Anna was in the hospital with anorexia. We chose the
problem on Pompeii,
and presented a future/past play showing how easily we can misinterpret
the historical meanings of things. We made it to state competition, but
we only got 7th place, hence it's kind of been wiped from the memory banks
as a bad experience. But it wasn't all bad. If we had gone to worlds in
Tenessee, we would have missed our Senior Night and Prom, as well as some
of the material just before finals in our classes.
Division IV
During my 2nd year of college, a team formed here at Iowa State, including
Franklin Voorhes, Sophia Thrall, Ken Horne, Randy Brown, Keith Kasych, and
myself. We tackled the vehicle problem, Pit
Stop, in which we had to propel a vehicle carrying a person and
powered by a mechanical jack around a course and perform certain tasks,
such as stoppping and moving in reverse, as well as a major appearance
change. This was a new experience for me. I had never done the
engineering problems, and we were on much hairier schedules as college
students than we had been in grade school. We had come up with a vehicle
and a solid concept for the play, and were working on practicing when,
memorial day weekend, our welded axle broke. We had no way to fix it
before we were scheduled to leave a couple of days later, so 4 days before
competition, we had to completely redesign our propulsion (and our skit).
Interestingly enough, it worked better than the original, and we were off
to Maryland to compete. We ended up with 3rd place (out of 6 or 7).
We started a team in the MTV
(Mini-Terrain Vehicles) problem the next year, but everyone got so
swamped with work that we had to quit, which was a little embarrasing when
competition was at ISU again.
Overall, OM has been a fabulous experience for me, and if you or your
children ever have the opportunity to get involved, do.
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