initiatives (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), and we actually like to add an ‘A’ to that making it S.T.E.A.M. “Many of the problems fulfill the S.T.E.M. “Odyssey of the Mind really encompasses the 21st-century skills that schools have been advocating for several years,” she said. It’s really quite amazing,” she said.Ĭrandall said Odyssey of the Mind has a big impact on the participants, not only the collaborative aspect of it, but it also takes a lot of creativity and a lot of commitment. “We’ve had young kids make a balsa wood structure that has held 300-400 pounds. She said the teams use balsa wood to create a structure that will hold as much weight as possible. Every team gets the same problem, but how they solve that problem is very different.Īs an example, Crandall described Problem 4 as a structure problem that is all about engineering. The kids work in teams of five to seven members who are all in the same age division. There are three division groups: Division I, fourth- and fifth-graders Division II, students in sixth through eighth grade and Division III, high school students. The Primary Problem, “Wacky Weather Warning,” requires the teams to create and present a humorous performance where a meteorologist makes three predictions of “wacky weather.” The “Spontaneous” challenge is the short-term portion of Odyssey where students are given a problem and must solve it in a given amount of time. This year’s choices are: Problem 1 (Vehicle) “Runaway Train,” Problem 2 (Technical) “Experiencing Technical Difficulties,” Problem 3 (Classics) “Pandora’s Box,” Problem 4 (Structure) “Lose Your Marbles,” and Problem 5 (Performance) “Silent Movie.” According to Crandall, engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) come up with a technical problem for the competition every year. They choose from one of five long-term problems to solve and prepare for by the regional competition in March. “Those schools will be scored by the same judges, but their awards and moving on will be totally separate, so they aren’t competing against any of our teams.”Ĭrandall said student teams start preparing for the tournament after school begins in September. “A couple of schools from that region still wanted to participate, so we welcomed them to come to our tournament,” she said. She said the Region 16 schools have held small tournaments for the last several years and, this year, a couple of big schools dropped out. She said they try to alternate the tournament between Cattaraugus County and Allegany County schools.Īccording to Crandall, teams from Cattaraugus and Allegany counties (Region 19) will be joined by students from Orleans and Niagara counties (Region 16). Jerry Mottern, Randolph Elementary School principal, is the New York state chairperson for Odyssey of the Mind, and this is Randolph’s first time hosting the regional tournament.Ĭindy Crandall, student program manager at CA BOCES, Olean, is coordinator for Region 19 of the Odyssey tournament. *Denotes 1st Place finish at the qualifying round.Approximately 50 competing teams will gather to brainstorm at Randolph’s high school for the annual competition, sponsored by the Cattaraugus/Allegany BOCES. Waters Middle School who will be competing in the Pandora's Box problem at the state tournament. Pictured at right: Photos supplied by teams 1 and 2 from Alfred G.
Click on the link below for Odyssey's map of the University of Delaware campus.
Grade K students don't compete, just perform - this allows them to gain skill and confidence for the next time! Please help congratulate these ASD teams who faced stiff competition, performed well, but found themselves just out of the running:įinally, congratulations to the Primary Team (Kindergarteners) from Olive B. Problem 4: Experiencing Technical Difficulties State Qualifiers Division 2 - Grade 6-8 Students Problem 2: Experiencing Technical Difficulties State Qualifiers Division 1 - Grade K-5 students