There were 118 Regional champion teams from across the state of Georgia who competed in the 25th Odyssey of the Mind (OTM) State Competition April 18 at Columbus State University.
Richmond Hill High School had four OTM teams win at Regional competition on Mar 3 in Savannah, Georgia and three of those teams competed at the State event. The Dinostories team won second place at the Georgia state competition level. This allows this team to compete at the World Finals held May 31- June 3 at the University of Maryland in College Park. The Wonderful Muses tied for 3rd place at the State level.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students. Participating schools can have up to seven members on a team, and they must choose one of five long-term problems to solve with less than $150 to spend. Students apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. Their solutions are presented at competitions on the regional, state, and world level. Thousands of teams from throughout the United States and from approximately 25 other countries participate in the program.
The Dinostories team members are: Matt Cordle, Michael Butler, James Slack, Alex Landry, John, Kreutz and Lindsey Sheffield. Teacher coach is Mark Linsky.
This team created a humorous performance about a team-created theory of what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct and a technical representation of the Extinction event. Their solution is presented in an eight minute play and the cost for production cannot exceed $145.
The Dinostories Team also won the most prestigious Creativity Award, the Ranatra Fusca Award. This award represents the essence of Odyssey of the Mind. It is given to teams who exhibit exceptional creativity and acknowledges creative thinking and risk taking.
The Dinostories Team won this award for exceptional creativity in engineering
The Wonderful Muses Team tied for third place at State Finals. Team members are Alex Reid, Laura Black, Chiara Norce, Kendra Schneider, Alex Mooney, Kayla Heier, and Lauren Trivitayakhun.
The Eccentrics team members are Evan Thompson, Taurean Butler, Vasily Kushakov, Kevin Lewis, Brian Farr, Tori Weaver, and Christina Colón. All the OTM teams are to be commended for solving their problem.
The Dinostories team will be fundraising to support their travel to World Finals. The team is attempting to raise $3,000 to cover the cost of the trip and the deadline for donations is May. 19.
The first event is May 12 at Beef O’ Brady’s, from 4:30-9 p.m. The Dinostories Team will be at your service. The next event will be May 14th, at Arby’s on Highway 17. If individuals would like to contribute funds for World Travel, please contact Pam King at 727-3113 or Michael Butler at 727-2122. All help will be greatly appreciated.