Odyssey of the Mind

Club Sponsor: Susan Skedel

 

What is Odyssey of the Mind?

 

Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving program for teams of students from kindergarten through college. Students are involved in problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting original interpretations of literary classics. Solutions are then brought to competition on the Regional, State, and World levels. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and more than 30 other countries participate in the program. You can read more about the Odyssey of the Mind on these websites: www.odysseyofthemind.com and www.floridaodyssey.org.

 

Team Selection

 

The Odyssey of the Mind program permits only seven students to make up a team. A team is chosen based on the variety of skills required for the competition. While many talented students try out for the OM team, it is the combination of talents that ultimately determines team placement. SSA+S sponsors at least one team each year. Whether other teams are sponsored depends on the availability of additional coaches.

 

Time Commitment

 

The Odyssey program requires a significant amount of time OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL. Because OM is a team competition, preparation for competition requires participation from all team members. Team members and their parents MUST COMMIT to the time requirements outside of school because practices are mandatory.

 

Regarding Commitment

 

Students interested in applying for the program must be able to commit to an entire year.

This is due to the significant fact that program rules stipulate that should a team member drop out of OM during the year, that member cannot be replaced. Obviously, that places the entire team at a real disadvantage at competition.

 

How do students benefit from participation?

 

In Odyssey of the Mind, students learn skills that will last a lifetime. They work in teams so they learn cooperation and respect for the ideas of others. They evaluate ideas and make decisions on their own, gaining greater self-confidence and increased self-esteem along the way. They work within a budget, so they learn to manage their money. They see that there’s often more than one way to solve a problem, and that sometimes the process is more important than the end result.

 

Competition Format

 

On the day of competition, students compete in three areas:

 

1.      Spontaneous Problem:  A think-on-your-feet problem solving activity whereby the team must come up with a creative solution to a verbal or hands-on problem. The team has no knowledge of the problem ahead of time, and generally is given anywhere from 2-5 minutes to develop a solution.

 

2.      Long-term Problem:  Students are given this problem early in the year and will work for several months working to find the ultimate solution for it.

 

3.      Style:  All problems include a performance component. “Style” is an evaluation of students’ writing and performing a skit, designing, building and painting a set, making costumes or props, etc.

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