Going to State!

Michael is on an Odyssey of the Mind creative problem solving team from school (http://www.odysseyofthemind.com). This is our first experience with Odyssey of the Mind, so I am sure I am missing some details when I try to describe it. Each team is assigned 1 of 5 different problems and they have to present a skit showing a creative solution to the problem. There are all sorts of rules about the technical & creative aspects they have to follow, including no adult help at all, including with building sets, sewing props, etc. The problem Michael's team was assigned was DinoStories - "What might have happened to the dinosaurs that existed so many years ago? In a humorous performance, teams will present their original theory of what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct. The performance will include a dinosaur, a replica of the same dinosaur, an animal that is not a dinosaur, and a technical simulation of the team's "extinction theory." At least part of the performance will take place in a setting from the Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous periods."



So last Saturday Michael's team took their solution they had created to the regional competition and place 4th overall, sending them to the State competition in April. His team lost 3 of its 7 members just 2 days before regionals, and they had to do a lot of rewriting to make it happen but their hard work paid off at the competition. Way to go Mr. Gangster/Mad Scientist/Time Traveler!