Odyssey of the Mind
A unique opportunity to showcase a child's gifts in visual arts, engineering, problem solving, team work, leadership, and critical thinking.
What is it and Who is it for?
OM is a regional and national team-based competition for kids K-12 who are motivated and eager to learn how to be creative problem solvers and then apply their problem solving skills to tackle a fun challenge. Teams are between 4 and 7 kids and the same school can have multiple team entries.
What is the timeline?
Program planning begins in the fall; peak team activity occurs weekly in January and February; and the regional competition typically takes place in February. Winners at regionals have the opportunity to advance to state and national competitions in the spring.
WANT MORE INFO?
Watch this video of our information Zoom session
For more information email BVE OM Coordinators Anne Kohler at akohler0503@gmail.com and Pooja Devendran at psdevendran@gmail.com
2021 Burton Valley Elementary Odyssey of the Mind Regional Showcase Submissions
Enjoy the team's first-round submissions below!
Problem 5:
Superhero Socks: A Cliffhanger Beginning (the Theater Problem)
Get ready for a story that begins with a cliffhanger “ending.” A Superhero is in peril and needs help to escape. Just as all hope seems lost, the Superhero puts on a pair of Super Socks that give the hero a special power. The Superhero uses the power to escape and fend off an adversary who caused the cliffhanger situation. Teams will also create an extreme weather setting, a humorous character, and a sound effect that occurs whenever the character activates the Super Socks.
Team “Sockateers”, BVE 4th grade
Jacqueline Evans
Kiran Borman
Leena Devendran
Ryan Kohler
Coaches: Anne Kohler, Pooja Devendran
Team “Laundry Land”, BVE 5th grade
David Siu
Lauren Brekke
Olivia Parker
Pareesha Chopra
Sarina “Raini” Chugh
Sanika Khamkar
Sophia Moore
Coaches: Maia Siu, Anna Stubbington
Problem 4:
It’s a Trap! (the Balsa Wood Problem)
Oh no, it’s a trap! Or is it? In this problem, teams will design and build a structure made of only balsa wood and glue, if desired, that holds as much weight as possible after it is used to trap a moving object. However, an oblivious character will unwittingly avoid traps it does not recognize in a humorous performance. The performance will also include a narrator character that alerts the audience to the action and the traps. Note: Wrecking Ball Structure II will return in the future when competitions are not in a virtual platform.
Team BVE 3rd grade
Dylan Tang
Edith Fritsch
Farah Falahati
Lincoln Wellington
Mazin Abrams
Zahin Shah
Coaches: Seema Shah, Aaron Fritsch
Problem 2:
Virtual Odyssey (the Vehicle Problem)
Creativity is boundless as teams create a performance that includes a Virtual Reality World. As part of the world, they will design and build various technical effects, which include changing something that is two-dimensional into three-dimensional. During the performance, a character will unknowingly enter the VirtualReality World where it will encounter a nefarious creature. It will learn the rules of collecting credits in the virtual world as the odyssey progresses. Finally, the character will escape the “clutches” of the creature and earn the last credit that allows it to journey back into the real world. The team will also create a special effect indicating to the judges and audience when the performance goes into virtual reality.
Team BVE 4th grade
Alden Sturm
Bennett Golik
Chloe Horowitz
Matthew Yin
Coaches: Daniel Horowitz, Kristina Sturm
Primary Problem:
Animals are People Too!
People see the world in different ways. Imagine looking at one thing and seeing something else. In this problem, teams will create and present a humorous performance about a magical pair of glasses that when looked through, make people look like animals. Teams will design a costume that transforms a character’s appearance from human to an animal, and another costume that transforms an animal to a different animal. A character will attempt to duplicate the glasses, but the copycat version doesn’t work the same way. What is seen through the copycat glasses will be represented by an artistic representation.
Team BVE Grade 1
Adison Tang
Alma Templeton Nabilek
Lucas Vaniman
Sahej Preet Singh Batra
Coaches: Shaila Narang Batra, Nin Tang, Tara Thorsen
Team BVE Grade 2
Amelia Stack
Avery Bunch
Collins Piacente
Emma Stack
Miri Robinson
Sloane Meyer
Coaches: Courtney Nielson, Sarah Stack
Team “Cheetahs” - BVE Grades 1/2
Imogen Mahoney
Ingrid Baucom
Madeleine LaPorte
Miles Paras
Willem LaPorte
Coaches: Dennis Mahoney, Laura LaPorte
