What in the world are you talking about? Odyssey of the Mind, in the words of a participant\assistant coach  
First the technical bits. In Odyssey of the Mind, a team of up to seven students collaborate to come up with a creative solution to a given problem in the form of a skit. There are many elements to be fulfilled in this, which are part of the score. To use a problem from several years ago- "Furs, Fins, and Feathers," the team needed to create a memorable animal character who interacted with a human character somehow. The animal needed to show four emotions from a list of twelve, and the meeting of the two had to produce some result. My team (Central Valley Able Learners, all the way back in 1995) came up with the idea of letting Lice-A Nitnelli meet up with Bill Clinton, transfered via a handshake with Ross Perot. (This was in the months following the $200 haircut. Political commentary never really changes, does it?) She and her backup singers, Lousy Ricardo and Nitwit (that was me!) ended up weaseling our way into a White House performance in trade for no shampoo! Along the way we sang such memorable numbers as "Home on the Mange" and, appropriately, a parody of "Cabaret." The skits are usually much more elaborate than your average corner theatre groups: teams have a cost limit of $100 (which, for the most part, OM reimburses) and groups usually spend most of it on materials for costumes, backdrops, and technical bits and pieces.
Depending on the problem selected by the team, this could be their challenge. Other teams opt for the infamous balsa problem, in which a structure of some sort is built from the light wood to perform a certain task- usually holding weights. Then there's the vehicle problem, where teams make a vehicle- either the size of an RC car or big enough for team members to ride in, depending on the problem) that will solve tasks- gathering objects, maneuvering obstacle courses, etc. There is also an oddball technical problem where teams generally need to build a device to accomplish something: sort packages or test potential habitats for animals to live in.
In addition to the long-term solution (named so because many months of work go into its creation), teams also compete in "spontaneous," for which there isn't really any preparation. Five team members go into a room to solve a problem in less than ten minutes. These can be "hands-on": "Here's a bag of stuff; build a tower that will hold as many weights as possible"; semi-verbal: "In front of you is an empty box. React to the box, improvising with it, telling things about it, or making up ways to use it."; or linguistic: "Name things and where they are kept."
Now for the abstract musings!
 OM is all about problem solving. From naming as many things that are green as you possibly can in two minutes to figuring out how to repair a broken backdrop with nothing but paperclips, hairspray, and duct tape, it tests students' creative thinking in any way imaginable. It brings together kids from kindergarten to high school from all over the world, united in their pursuits, disregarding gender, ethnic background, religious beliefs, or anything else that may prevent their full acceptance in other things.
By participating in the Odyssey of the Mind program, students have a chance to test skills that traditional teaching methods may not include. Take a hands-on spontaneous problem, for example. A group of five team members is given one paper lunch sack, four double-ply paper napkins, two yards of string, three paperclips, a rubber band, two sheets of 8½ x 11 xerox paper, eight feet of masking tape, and one raw grade AAA large egg. They are challenged to package the egg with the given materials so that when dropped onto a concrete floor from a height of 15 feet it will remain intact.
First of all, the team members must work together to brainstorm ideas, revise plans, and construct the solution. They must work creatively; "thinking outside the box" (breaking the rules legally, as I call it) to come up the best possible answer. The group has to be willing to take risks, able to put their score on the line in favor of something that may have great benefit- or great consequences. The OM'ers must apply their knowledge in various areas to one specific problem, approaching it in many ways.  The OM'ers of today are tomorrow's leaders. I'm glad to be a part of this program- what I've learned here I could never have gotten in a traditional setting. The lessons I've picked up on are going to help me wherever I go. I'm very thankful that such programs exist- I don't know what I'd do otherwise!     Home