Calisthenics for the brain
Dingman - The North East Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind competition took place at the Dingman Delaware school campus last Saturday, March 4. Twenty-one Delaware Valley teams participated in the event, joining thousand of others teams from about 25 countries who also compete. Odyssey of the Mind challenges and encourages creative problem solving in students from second grade to college. Six local schools sent teams which were divided into three divisions based on age. The seven person teams competed in one of the five problems available, each required the team to present an eight minute skit. Building a miniature structure and testing how much weight it can hold, constructing a vehicle to complete certain tasks, or creating a device to accomplish specific jobs are examples of problems the teams needed to solve during their “long term” solution. Other areas of competition included “style” where the judges scores certain props the team constructed and spontaneity where teams are given a problem to respond to creatively within a certain time limit. Teams that placed first or second in the all-day competition moved on to the state level in Altoona where they will have an opportunity to advance to World Finals. Recognition was given to the Dingman Delaware Primary School team that was ineligible for further competition in the state, and the Delaware Valley High School, The Great Parade, Division III team that received a Ranatra Fusca Award for extraordinary creativity. First place finishers included: Dingman Delaware Elementary School, The Great Parade, Division I Dingman Delaware Middle School, The Great Parade, Division II Delaware Valley Elementary School, Tech Transfer, Division I Dingman Delaware Middle School, Tech Transfer, Division II Delaware Valley High School, Tech Transfer, Division III Delaware Valley Middle School, Geometry Structure, Division II Delaware Valley High School, Geometry Structure, Division III Shohola Elementary School, The Jungle Bloke, Division I In second place were: Delaware Valley Elementary School, The Great Parade, Division I Delaware Valley Middle School, The Great Parade, Division II Delaware Valley High School, Ancient Egypt, Division III Dingman Delaware Elementary School, The Jungle Book, Division I Finishing third were: Delaware Valley High School, The Great Parade, Division III Delaware Valley Middle School, Ancient Egypt, Division II