Imaginations and creativity of all teams were put to the test as students were encouraged to think outside the box. For example, a small puff ball with a string wrapped around it became a planet in space with someone lassoing it. And it wasn’t just a cotton ball - it was a flying cloud. A toothpick with some puff balls became a girl with a dress or a decorated Christmas tree. Paper clips and cotton balls became an alien ship preparing to attack Earth.
There were no wrong answers - only more creative and imaginative ones. Higher points are awarded for originality, creativity and imaginative responses.
In another challenge, Ellie Baranek and Anna Dunkelberger, along with their teammates, pondered ways to use limited supplies like paper clips, paper, toothpicks, small cups, and strands of tape to build a bridge between two boxes. The bridge had to be strong enough to transfer balls from one box to the other. Some of the balls were lightweight like cotton balls, but others were heavier like golf balls. More distance between the boxes meant more points awarded. Same with the number and weight of the balls able to be transferred successfully.
All this had to be done very quickly - just 5 minutes for planning and building and then 3 more minutes to test their bridge for scoring. There were a lot of “what if we do this?” kinds of questions and discussions taking place between all the team members before they quickly realized their planning time was nearly up.
In both the long-term and spontaneous challenges there is never one right answer. That’s part of the beauty of OM. Teams are judged on creativity, teamwork and their ability to think outside the box. The more creative the solution or answers, the higher the points.
TK OM coordinator Jacki Schneider said she’s pleased to see so many students in the district involved in OM this year. “We span all the way from kindergarten to 12th grade this year. This is the most number of teams we have ever had, and our program is experiencing amazing growth.”
Odyssey of the Mind, or OM, is a creative problem-solving program. Teams compete in different formats. First, teams take on a long-term problem which takes months to work on. It involves writing scripts, designing a set, constructing props and giving a theatrical performance. The second part of OM is the spontaneous portion where teams also have to generate solutions or answers to a task they have not seen before competition day and have only a few minutes of prep time.
TK teams will have home field advantage as the district will host the regional competition for the first time this year. That competition is Feb. 21 and will be held at the middle school. The district will also continue to host the state finals a month later on March 21. World finals will be held at Iowa State University May 27-30. Three TK teams advanced to the world finals in 2025.