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Rocky Mount, N.C.—Nearly 2,000 visitors will converge on the campus of North Carolina Wesleyan College on Saturday, April 5, to compete in the state finals of the Odyssey of the Mind School Program. Students of kindergarten age through college age will match wits and creativity in various categories to devise solutions to a wide range of challenges. Some of the day’s activities also will be held at the Rocky Mount Charter School and the Church on the Rise, both located near Wesleyan.

Odyssey of the Mind is a program open to schools, community groups, and colleges and universities. It encourages students to work together, in and out of the classroom, to learn team-building skills and apply creative-thinking processes to find solutions to many types of challenges. Students in the program work in small teams with adult coaches throughout the school year to practice their problem-solving skills. Annual competitions are then held at various levels, from local to international, and teams are eligible to advance to the world finals.

About 125 student teams from throughout North Carolina are expected to compete in Rocky Mount. The teams average nine members, including adult coaches. Competition usually falls into six categories: vehicular, technical, classical, structural, theatrical, and non-competitive problems for primary school students. Students on each team must conceive, design, and carry out a solution to the problem in their category without assistance.

Each team’s final score is based on several factors. One is the team’s solution for a long-term challenge that the team has worked on during the school year. Each team demonstrates its solution to that long-term problem at the state-wide competition. Students also earn points for style or attention to detail in their long-term projects. In addition, points are awarded on the day of the event for a spontaneous solution to a problem posed to the teams within each category.

An example of a long-term problem that teams have faced in the past is having to create and drive a vehicle that changes appearance, like a chameleon, when it moves into three team-created "environments," each with a different setting.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the end of the day. Points aside, however, participants are reminded that the true measure of their success is what they have learned, plus the fun of the experience.

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