Odyssey of the Mind
NASA’s Earth Observing System Project Science Office is partnering with Odyssey of the Mind to develop and sponsor a long-term Earth science problem for their annual competition.
Founded in 1978, Odyssey of the Mind, an international creative problem-solving program for students from kindergarten through college, attracts students from across the United States and more than 30 other countries. Odyssey of the Mind competitions involve creative exercises in which teamwork, cooperation and ingenuity are applied to complete various tasks. Students choose from one of six long-term "problems" and form teams to develop solutions. The problems range in nature from the technical to the artistic, and solutions are judged for creativity, originality and other criteria. In the spring, teams take their solutions to official competitions at the regional, state, country and world level.
The 2008-2009 long-term problem is entitled Earth Trek. This problem requires teams to design and build a small vehicle that will visit four locations. The locations will be different places within one or more team-determined environments. Each time the vehicle leaves a location it will look different in appearance, and after leaving one of the locations it will appear to be a group of vehicles that are traveling together. The team's performance will incorporate the visits to the locations, the environments, and the changes in appearance of the vehicle. Cost Limit: $145 USD.
CONTACT: For more information, visit the main Odyssey of the Mind Web site.