So, What is Odyssey of the Mind?

If you are the parent of a school-aged child, you may have received a flyer recently regarding the Odyssey of the Mind program. And, if you are anything like I was this time last year, you are wondering "What in the world is that?" Or perhaps..."Is it for brainiacs? Is it for theater geeks? Why does NASA think it is good enough for them to sponsor? Is it all work and no play? Or all play and no work? What if my child is really shy?"

Here is an attempt, from the perspective of a first-time OotM parent and based on some great information I received from NPSD's acting OotM Coordinator, Joanne Wiernusz, at describing this truly unique and impressive program.

Odyssey of the Mind (aka O.M. or OotM) is an educational program for children in kindergarten through college across the globe to learn to think creativity, work as a team, and gain the confidence to present their ideas to others.

Teams of up to seven children from the same school form in the fall each year and set to work on solving a long-term, open-ended problem. Teams in grades K through 2nd are all assigned the same problem to solve. Children in older grades are given a choice from five different problems.

The teams are given a set budget and and adults are prohibited from contributing ideas for the solution. (How hard that must be!) Parents can drive their kids to the store for supplies, but they cannot make any suggestions as to the solution.

Teams set their own meeting schedules. If weekday afternoons work best for your group, you can meet then. If your team prefers to meet later in the evening or on the weekend, you can do that instead. It may be the case that meeting weekly is best for your team. Other teams might only meet once before the holidays and then meet quite frequently after New Year's.

Each year in March, OotM teams have the option of going to compete against teams from other schools in their region. Winners at the regional competition will then compete against other teams from across the state in April. Winners from the states competition will then travel to the World Finals, which is in Iowa this year.

The North Penn School District has an impressive track record with multiple wins across various categories at the World Finals level over the years including the Penndale / Pennbrook Middle School team that won First Place in their problem and their division at the World Finals in 2010.

If you'd like a glimpse at some past solutions, YouTube is filled with countless videos of teams performing their solutions that range from the adorable at the K through 2nd grade level up to "Omigosh they are amazingly talented!" at the high school level and beyond.

The way that I have described the program to my own children is: So, how would you like to BE the Imagination Movers?

For additional information on how to join or start a team at your child's school, you can attend an information session:

"Let's brainstorm!"

• TONIGHT! Monday, September 19th, 7pm, Montgomery Elementary School,
• Tuesday, September 27th, Penndale Middle School, or
• Wednesday, October 5th, Hatfield Elementary School

Information is also available online at www.npenn.org > For Families > Odyssey of the Mind.

One last note for teachers: Act 48 credits may be available to you if you choose to serve as a judge at competition! Volunteer judges are an essential part of this non-for-profit program and are always needed!