Twenty-four student teams from schools in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties advanced to the state Odyssey of the Mind tournament in Binghamton on April 8 (click here for the full results). They were selected from 98 teams competing in the Region Four Odyssey of the Mind Tournament coordinated by Questar III at Coxsackie-Athens CSD.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students of all ages. It encourages students to use their imaginations and to work in teams – skills that will be useful throughout their lives.

On March 25, teams performed creative skits they developed to demonstrate their solutions to open-ended problems without a specific right or wrong answer. Teams were judged on their unique solutions to the problems, as well as their teamwork, creativity, ability to think out of the box.

Congratulations to the following teams representing our area at the state competition in Binghamton:

Problem 1: Catch Us If You Can
Teams will design, build, and run vehicles from a multi-level Parking Garage to a secret meeting place without being stopped. Vehicles will travel different routes to reach the same destination. During their Odyssey, the vehicles will do something that prevents them from being followed. The performance will include the reason for the meeting, someone that wants to prevent the meeting, a simulation of a scene taking place inside a vehicle as it travels, and a soundtrack to accompany the vehicles’ travel.

  • Germantown Elementary School – Division I
  • Germantown Middle School – Division II
  • Algonquin Middle School – Division II
  • Hoosic Valley High School – Division III
  • Ichabod Crane High School – Division III

Problem 2: Odd-a-Bot
For this problem, teams will create a humorous story about a family that brings home an “Odd-a-Bot.” Instead of being programmed to perform tasks, this Odd-a-Bot robot learns from watching others. Teams will design, build, and operate an original robot that demonstrates human characteristics when performing tasks. In the performance, the Odd-a-Bot will move and learn human actions from watching characters perform activities such as household chores, creating art, and dancing. The Odd-a-Bot learns more than it was expected to learn, and will confuse its actions with humorous results.

  • Red Mill Elementary School – Division I
  • Coxsackie-Athens Elementary School – Division I
  • Tamarac Elementary School – Division I
  • Tamarac Secondary School – Division II
  • Greenville Middle School – Division II
  • Hoosic Valley High School – Division III

Problem 3: It’s Time, OMER
The future and the past collide in this problem about important works of art – both existing and yet-to-be-created. Teams will create and present an original performance about time travelers looking to discover the inspiration for great works of art, little did they know – it was OMER every time! The travelers go back in time — twice into our past and once into our future. They will see OMER inspire two classical artists and a team-created artist from our future. The performance will include how the three works of art positively impact the world, a visual and audible effect that indicates when time travel is occurring, two re-creations of the classic works of art selected from a list, and a team-created work of art.

  • Scott M. Ellis Elementary School – Division I
  • Edward J. Arthur Elementary School – Division I
  • Hoosic Valley Elementary School – Division II
  • Catskill High School – Division III

Problem 4: Ready, Set, Balsa, Build!
Creativity can be defined by using only what you have to get a job done. In this problem, teams will design, build, and test a structure made of only balsa wood and glue that will balance and support as much weight as possible. The structure must include sets of balsa pieces of predetermined sizes and quantities as listed in the problem. Some sets must be parts of the structure while others, if incorporated, will receive additional score – the more sets of pieces used, the higher the score! Teams will present a performance with a theme about using what’s available and that incorporates weight-placement and assembling original team creations.

  • Catskill Elementary School – Division I
  • Catskill Middle School – Division II
  • Troy Middle School – Division II
  • Averill Park High School – Division III
  • Troy High School – Division III

Problem 5: To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger
Creativity is being taken away from the world, and it is up to Odyssey teams to rescue it! Teams will create and present a humorous performance about an unexpected superhero that encounters three different situations where it must save creativity in some way. The superhero will change appearance when it displays its superpowers and go back to blending in with society when not. The performance will also include a clumsy sidekick, a nemesis character, a choreographed battle, and a cliffhanger ending.

  • School 18 (Troy) – Division I
  • Tamarac Secondary School – Division II
  • Algonquin Middle School – Division II
  • Tamarac Secondary School – Division III

Teams winning in Binghamton will move onto the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University May 24-27. At least one team from Rensselaer, Columbia, or Greene County has advanced to the World Finals every year since 2007, including 12 in the past five years alone.

Twelve teams also competed in the primary division Movin’ Out! problem on March 25. These teams, for students in kindergarten through second grade, serve to introduce students to Odyssey and the “kids-do-it-all” type of problem solving. This category is not competitive, and they do not receive scores, but rather information from the judges to help them learn and succeed at future tournaments.

Two teams also earned an OMER award for exceptional talent or dedication to teamwork and sportsmanship. This included Gardner-Dickinson Team 30847, who competed in problem 3. The team parents nominated the students and coaches. Additionally, Ellen Schirmer, a coach at Goff Middle School, also earned an OMER. She was nominated by her team and the East Greenbush Odyssey of the Mind family.

Hoosic Valley Team 7512 (Problem 5, Division 3) also earned the prestigious Renatra Fusca award for writing their Dr. Seuss inspired script in rhyme.

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