Oliveira Students Take 'Odyssey' To State-Wide Problem Solving Contest

A team of third graders from Oliveira Elementary School have built a tiny balsa wood structure capable of holding 350 pounds before being crushed.

In so doing they recently won the Odyssey of the Mind regional competition.

The Odyssey is a cross-disciplinary competition that combines engineering, theatrics, debate and problem-solving. It carries no monetary prize but is designed to sharpen students' thinking while encouraging them to have fun.

The students are being coached by Simon Chao, an engineer and Oliveira parent.

Team members are Edmund Chao, Brian Le, Alton Chao, Cori Yim, Peter Xu and Alex Bornarth. 

On March 23, the Oliveira team will head to the state finals in Brentwood.

There they will vie with similar teams from across California for a chance to advance to the national and international contest at Michigan State University in May.

The problem these students solved was a head scratcher.

They were challenged to build a structure using no more than 15 grams of wood (about the weight of three nickles).

This structure had to tumble down a four-foot long runway, travel more than 18 inches through the air and survive a drop of at least six inches.

Students then had to move the structure without using their hands, and load it with weights until it was crushed -- while doing a performance that was part of the overall competition.

Chao said the students created a skit in which they played squirrels and raccoons trying to crack a nut -- their balsa wood creation.

Chao, a computer chip designer for Intel Corporation, said he learned a lot from the exercise, which involved all of the parents as well as the students.

"I've never done anything like this before," said Chao, adding that "in order to help the kids without telling them what to do required a lot of patience and asking open-ended questions."

The statewide finals will be held from 8:00 a.m. to  4:00 p.m. at Heritage High School in Brentwood. There is no admission charge.

Come cheer on the team!