Odyssey of the Mind world finalists

Why nominated

Four Monument Academy students are headed to Michigan to compete in the world finals of Odyssey of the Mind, a program that challenges students from kindergarten through college to creatively solve problems, such as building mechanical devices and interpreting literary classics.

To qualify for the international contest, Grayson McKeown, Oriana Ramirez, Paul Reimann and Emily Clear placed first in the regional competition and second in state April 10. The sixth-graders, led by coach Paula Avis, will represent Colorado in the world finals Wednesday through Saturday at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

The team members were nominated as Gazette Great Kids by Diana Ramirez, Oriana’s mom.

Emily served as spokeswoman during a speakerphone interview with the whole team last week.

Q&A

What is Odyssey of the Mind?

“Odyssey of the Mind is a problem-solving competition. You have to figure out the most creative way to solve (the problem). We had to create a car where someone drove it and we had to encounter four things — overcome four obstacles.”

What were those obstacles?

“Encounter a physical obstacle, encounter wildlife, a breakdown — car breaks down — and environment — fix the environment, make the environment better in some way.”

How did you feel at the competitions? Nervous? Excited?
“Nervous, I guess. In state we were nervous, and regionals we were excited because that was the first Odyssey of the Mind we had done.”

Have you made changes to your solution since regionals?

“We made a ton of changes. If you saw our skit from the regional, it’s transformed a lot, which actually resulted in a higher score in state.

“And then there’s also a problem we compete in … it’s called spontaneous, and it’s where you go into a room and only the judges and your team are allowed in. You are given a problem on the spot, and you need to come up with the most creative way to solve it, and that is included in your final score.”

How are you preparing for world finals?

“We worked a lot on fundraising so we could raise the funds to go, and we wrote thank-you notes to the donors. We’re also working on spontaneous because we didn’t get the best score at state, so we’re trying to improve.”

How can you expect what’s spontaneous?

“They told us a little … there’s three different kinds of spontaneous; there’s verbal, hands-on, and verbal hands-on. At world competition, they said there might be a little bit of a language barrier, so we’re more likely to get a hands-on than a verbal, and we’re more likely to get a hands-on than a verbal hands-on.”

How much money did you have to raise?

“$5,400.”

What adults are going with you to Michigan?

“Our coach; Oriana’s, Grayson’s and my parents are going. So that covers the supervision.”

Are you staying at a hotel?

“We’re actually staying at the University of Michigan dorms.”

Why do you enjoy Odyssey of the Mind?

“We think Odyssey of the Mind is very fun to participate in. It’s given us critical-thinking skills, problem-solving skills, especially on the spot, and we really enjoy coming to our meetings.”

How often are the meetings?

“Every Tuesday and Thursday, and sometimes we’ll have meetings on Saturdays and Sundays to cover spontaneous or fundraising.”

Do you have any idea what the other teams are preparing?

“Our team saw part of the first-place team’s skit. … We actually beat them in our long-term problem, which was the Nature Trail’R problem, and they beat us in spontaneous. … But other than that we really don’t have any idea on what other teams are doing.”
 
What’s Nature Trail’R?

“That was the name of our problem. There’s five different problems, and that was the one we chose.”

The Nature Trail’R problem is sponsored by NASA. Here’s the description of the problem on the Odyssey of the Mind website, odysseyofthemind.com: “This problem requires teams to design, build and drive a human-powered vehicle and camper that will go on a camping trip. When the vehicle arrives at the Campground, the camper will be disconnected and the vehicle will travel on a team-created Nature Trail. On the Nature Trail, the vehicle will overcome an obstacle, clean up the environment, encounter wildlife, and undergo a repair. The performance will include a character that is in or near the camper that explains the experience as part of its role.”

What did the regional and state judges like about your team?

“I think we placed high because a few of the judges that judge us at regionals were at our state competition, and they saw our improvement and how hard we worked, and I think they recognized that. And then the fact that instead of (setting the camping-trip scenario) in the U.S., we did it in Madagascar. So it was unique. That definitely helped our points. … We tried to think out of the box, and I think that helped us.”

Anything else you want to say?

“Everyone that donated … we really appreciate your support, and we did reach our goal. We actually got more money than we needed to raise, so we are donated the extra to next year’s Odyssey team if they go to finals or even for prop money.

“We thought it was very generous of everyone who donated, and we appreciate all the support.

“And we also wanted to say thank-you to our coach and our parents for all the hard work they’ve put in. It’s been a hectic schedule.”