What is Odyssey of the Mind?
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. The nonstandard problems help to develop in children and students their creative thinking that predetermines success in the life. Thanks to participation in this program children and students get an opportunity to develop their creative abilities, visit different countries and find new friends. Today children from about more than 20 countries participate in the program and the number of participants is permanently increasing.
How does it work?
Schools or some other organizations get a membership and organize teams. There are 7 participants in the team. The team chooses one of five suggested problems to solve. The problems appeal to a wide range of interests; some are technical in nature, while others are artistic or performance-oriented.
Under the guidance of an adult coach, teams work on their solutions throughout the school year and, if they choose, present them in organized competitions in the spring. The "friendly" competitive aspect encourages students to be the best that they can be.
What are the competition levels?
The first level of competition is usually within an educational institution. Teams who place are invited to compete at the city, region and country levels. These championship teams are then invited to participate in the annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, where they compete with teams from countries around the world, including Canada, China, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Australia, Russia and Ukraine. New countries join the program each year.
How are teams judged in competition?
Thousands of volunteers from around the world judge the competitions and serve in various positions to help make the tournaments a success.
Teams are scored for their long-term problem solution, how well they solve a "spontaneous" problem on the spot, and "style" -- the elaboration of their long-term problem solution.
Who runs the Odyssey of the Mind?
Not-for-profit organizations administer the Odyssey of the Mind program in each participating country.
Each organization is run by a local Association Director. The organizations are licensed by Creative Competitions, Inc. (CCI), which provides all of the problems and materials necessary to run training sessions and tournaments.
How did Odyssey of the Mind get its start?
Odyssey of the Mind was created by Dr. C. Samuel Micklus, Professor Emeritus at Rowan University in New Jersey. In 1978, 28 New Jersey schools participated in the very first creative problem-solving competition ever. "Dr. Sam" still develops all problems for the program, along with his son, Sammy, President of CCI.
The official cite: http://odysseyofthemind.com
