Pasco teams hit the road on Odyssey of the Mind

Kids, parents, and the creative paraphernalia for this intellectual competition set out seeking a world championship.

By KENT FISCHER

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 30, 2000

Three caravans of rental trucks, minivans and family sedans loaded with kids, props and parents will chug to Tennessee today for a weeklong adventure at one of the world's most unusual academic competitions.

It's called Odyssey of the Mind, and student teams from Seven Springs Middle, River Ridge High and Land O'Lakes High schools have spent months perfecting their entries for the world championship, held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The three teams qualified for the world finals by first winning their regional competitions and, last month, the state tournament. Last year, more than 750 teams from every state and 30 countries competed in Knoxville.

Two of Pasco's teams have been to the world competition before. Last year, half of the Land O'Lakes team competed as part of a squad of eighth-graders from Pine View Middle School. In 1998, the River Ridge team finished 10th at the competition as seventh-graders.

Kids from each of the teams said their main goal this week is to have fun. But they want to win, too.

"If we could get a medal, that would be really nice," said Maria Ippolito, a member of the River Ridge squad. "But deep down inside, we all want the gold."

Odyssey of the Mind is different because it stresses creative problem solving over the quick recall of facts. Each fall, the competition's organizers publish a list of problems the students can opt to solve. The problems range from building an elastic-powered car to writing and performing skits to building enormously strong balsa wood bridges.

Teams spend the better part of the school year designing, testing and refining their solutions. Competition rules stipulate that the teams cannot spend more than $100 on their projects.

In addition to the long-term projects, the teams also compete in a timed, "spontaneous" problem solving contest, which will make up a little less than half of their total score. Teams are also judged on their creativity and style. The Land O'Lakes team will compete in the high school "Elasti-Pumper" division. They designed and built a car out of plywood, old bicycle gears and an abandoned Lazy Susan. The driver pumps a handlebar strung with thick bungee cords, which spin the gears, making it go.

A team of five girls from River Ridge wrote an eight-minute farce based on the legend of King Arthur. The River Ridge team designed and built a 7-foot-tall pop-up book that serves as a backdrop to their skit, which they called "The Gourd in the Scone."

The huge pop-up book includes chandeliers, tables, fences and jousting knights. Judges were so impressed with the display that national organizers will videotape the team's competition for use in an Odyssey of the Mind promotional video.

The Seven Springs Middle team wrote a script about a person who finds a wish-granting genie and the ensuing legal fallout after the wishes backfire. The students' script takes place in court after the genie is sued for granting faulty wishes.

"We're all a good group of friends, and we're comfortable with each other," said Seven Springs team member Beth Botkin. Our project "is mostly acting, and we all have some acting background."

The Pasco Education Foundation, a nonprofit group that raises money for the district, paid $16,500 for the students' registration fees and five days of lodging and meals. Schools, teachers and community groups also contributed to help defray the costs of the nearly 30 adult coaches and chaperones who will also make the trip.

"It's not just been Land O'Lakes," said Lynn Pabst, an elementary school teacher who coaches the Land O'Lakes team. "It's been a nice community effort."

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