Students Embark on an Odyssey of the Mind

Hundreds of elementary and middle school students gathered at James Monroe High School yesterday to take part in a competition of critical thinking called Odyssey of the Mind. This gathering is smaller than it has been in the past, says Linda Lam, a local coordinator for OM and office worker at Lafayette Upper Elementary School. Three years ago, 127 teams took part in the regional OM competition in Stafford County. This year there were only 47 teams, a fact which Lam chalks up to the school systems in Hanover, Stafford and Spotsylvania pulling out of OM programs in the face of budget cuts. 

But still, those 47 teams of five-to-seven students each were eager to put their minds to use in solving a variety of creative problems. 

"You have to use both sides of the brain in the real world," said New Kent Middle School student Cari Earnhardt. "These skills help you to think outside the box."

Earnhardt was speaking after her team had just finished performing in the Le Tour competition, which challenged teams to create a skit incorporating two real locations and one fictional, but feasible location. Her team's skit focused on the hunt for a missing Easter Island totem called a  Mo'ai. The complexity of their set design, and a very creatively constructed Mo'ai prop earned their team 3rd place in their division. 

Students also competed contests involving robotics and engineering, as well as some light materials science. Each competition has a theatrical element to it, requiring teams to not only build a technically proficient creation, but also a creatively proficient production. 

First place winners will go on to the state OM competition on April 16 at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria.