Odyssey of the Mind Needs More Brain Power
February 10, 2020
Coming up on April 4th there is an Odyssey of The Mind state tournament at Central Junior Highschool. The Odyssey of The Mind currently only has three members, but they need five to go to the state tournament by January 31st. The Odyssey of the Mind club is a problem solving, building, knowledge testing, and problem club, with an open environment.
“Odyssey of the Mind is a small group of students that writes and performs an eight minute skit in response to a prompt or problem. For example, we are making a skit with a ‘solution’ to an unsolved mystery in history,” freshman Aloisia Rickert said.
In addition to skits, and problem solving, there is also something called a “spontaneous question.”
The Belleville West Oddyessy of the Mind team standing with the founder.
“They also have to do a spontaneous question on the day of competition, and teams placing first and second place in the state competition, get to move on to world finals competition,” English teacher Mrs. Thurnau said.
If there are enough people to qualify and place well enough in the first competition, the team could continue on to the World Finals, on May 27 2020 at Iowa State University.
“At this point, its too early to tell if we would make it,” Mrs.Thurnau said.
Other members have a different idea of how the season will play out.
“I think that as long as we’re prepared, we’ll make world finals. There aren’t too many teams at the high school level, so we’ll have a better advantage that way,” Rickert said.
This club isn’t only just for scholarships or prizes and this club is important for everyone.
“I believe any club is worth saving if it touches the hearts of those who are apart of it. Odyssey changed me for the better. It can help people find themselves and meet new people,” freshman Paige Pratt said.
For some members, this is more than a club. For one of the longest standing members, Paige, it is something she has enjoyed doing for years.
“There are no exact words for what Odyssey means to me. It helped me find a part of myself I never knew I had. Ever since I joined Odyssey I’ve grown out of my shell,” Pratt said.
