Two Da Vinci Odyssey of the Mind Teams Headed to World Finals in May
Six teams from Da Vinci Schools took part in Odyssey of the Mind this year with two teams, one with 5th-7th graders and one with 8th-9th grade students, making it to the World Finals that will be held on May 21-24 at Michigan State University. As part of the competition, the 40 Da Vinci students showed exceptional skills as resourceful and creative problem-solvers, displaying persistence, adaptability, and a true collaborative spirit — all hallmarks of a Da Vinci education.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational competition that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their ingenuity and creativity to solve open-ended problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the regional, state, and world level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and around the world participate in the program.
This year, Da Vinci Schools had six Odyssey of the Mind teams teams made up of Kinder-9th grade students from Da Vinci Connect, Da Vinci Design, and Da Vinci Science. All six teams excelled at the regional competition in February, with five teams moving on to the state level competition, and now two teams are headed to the World Championship on May 21-24 to compete with kids from Poland, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, China, and others from all over the world!
This year, team Platypus United, with team members from 8th-9th grades, shot for the stars by making their own civilization including stories, myths, and legends to explain the stars in the sky and their patterns. The team created a humorous performance set in a team-created “historical” civilization that presented constellations and original stories explaining each one. The performance also included a humorous astronomer character with a “stellar” costume, a lighting effect, and a shooting star!
Team Technical Difficulties, with team members from 5th-7th grade, invented their own bestie, a mech-animal! In this problem, the team designed, built, and operated an original robotic animal that had the ability to make people happy. In the performance, the mech-animal performed various tricks that cheered people up, but then it suddenly went missing, only to be found in a very unusual place. The performance also included live music, a toy for the Mech-Animal.
Odyssey of the Mind teaches students how to develop and use their natural creativity to become problem-solvers. Each team is given a problem that requires an original solution. The skills and self-confidence that students have learned from their experience carries over to all areas of their lives. Odyssey of the Mind also emphasizes teamwork, budgeting, time management, public speaking, and more. This international program is designed to help students at all learning levels grow as individual learners, grow as team members, and to reach their full potential.
Here’s what some of our Da Vinci students have to say about Odyssey of the Mind:
“I thought I was going to cry if we didn’t make it to World’s, but now I’m crying in excitement that we did!”
“I’m so excited and relieved and excited at the same time!”
“We worked so hard to get to this point!”
Da Vinci Schools Odyssey of the Mind teams are fundraising to send the teams to the World Finals. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help fund their trip. Make sure to click on “19 Odyssey of the Mind” so your donation reaches us. Donate at: https://davincischools.networkforgood.com/. We thank you!
