Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 11, 1990 TAG: 9003112792
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By ROBERTA GREEN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
While that sounds amazing, it's just the tip of the iceberg of what was going on there Saturday as the seventh annual Odyssey of the Mind gave school-age children the chance to solve problems, create and perform.
OM is an extracurricular event that encourages young people in kindergarten through high school to play mental games with the same enthusiasm and precision as physical games. It is exercise and amusement for the mind.
" `What a super thing for kids,' I thought six years ago," said Lisa Lackey, director of the Roanoke Regional Competition. "That's when I became involved. That year, we had 25 teams. This year, we have 168 teams from 18 school divisions."
The problems they solve fall into two categories: spontaneous and long-term. Children have one to five months to prepare.
The long-term problems fall into six divisions, Lackey said.
Probably one of the most unusual projects was called "Classics . . . The Seven Wonders of the World," where teams created and presented performances that included six models of the seven original wonders and replacements for the five wonders that no longer exist. Franklin County High's replacements included such features of our world as Mickey Mouse, phone booths and audiocassette players.
"The teams seem even more creative this year," said Camille Beck, Wonders judge and one of the 100 judges participating campuswide Saturday. "There's a great deal of variety, really different ways of seeing the problem and solution."
And while there were many different renditions of how to construct the new and ancient worlds, one reality - teamwork - united each project.
"We wanted to do it as a group of friends," said Kim Holston, a ninth-grade participant on the seven-person team from Pulaski County High School.
"It was a group effort, right down to painting Zeus," agreed Chastity Friend, also a ninth-grader on the Pulaski team.
Out in that audience was the team's coach, Jackie Freeman, who teaches geography at the school.
"They have to do everything themselves. It's nerve-wracking to just sit out there and watch."
Freeman's son Douglas, 11, participated in another of the long-term problems, "Geographic Odyssey."
Here the teams' problem was to design, build and drive a vehicle powered by the rowing motion of one or more team members who also were riding on it.
While that alone sounds challenging, there's another charge: The vehicle must be used on a "geographical expedition" represented by one or more aspects of three different existing countries.
In "Omitronic Humor," teams developed and performed comedy routines that included an original animated character that showed specific reactions and emotions, such as smiling, crying, and showing surprise and boredom.
Examples of these creatures included a pushy, automated casting director made from a chair and a creature hunting for a brain at a sidewalk "cell" at Brains-R-Us.
"Structures in Harmony" had teams designing and constructing prefabricated parts made of balsa wood and glue that are then combined to make a single structure that will balance and support weight.
"Friends of Nature" was a long-term project for primary students that asked the teams to create original stories about how humans and animals help each other. Kindergarten through second-grade pupils are not judged.
The final long-term problem was "Recycle." Here participants had to develop a nonverbal communication system to guide blindfolded team members through a course strewn with trash and obstacles.
Richard Dugan, one of several judges for the event, stressed that he was looking for originality in his judging of the style.
"Since this is non-linguistic, the kids really have to display some ingenuity to not only communicate with their teams, but also to guide them around the barriers and on to the collection center."
Christine Nimmich, a student teacher at Margaret Beeks Elementary School in Blacksburg and one of the coaches of the third-grade team, watched anxiously as her team went through the course using a series of whistle blasts and cymbal clashes to guide them. As the Beeks team took the floor "blindfolded" by the empty cereal boxes they wore on their heads, their coach worried and said, "They thought of the idea themselves. They've been practicing since January."
A Division II team participating in the same event had a very different communication experience. The dispatcher for the long-term Blacksburg Middle School team, Emily McMullen, cued her team with a keyboard.
"We're going to practice right before [the competition] so we can really feel like a team," said McMullen. "But we're sort of nervous."
Elisabeth Newcomb, also a member of the Blacksburg Middle school team, spoke of the complexity involved in the spontaneous portion of the event.
"We used hand signals to communicate, but it was more complex than we thought it would be. We had a little trouble communicating."
"Each year we wonder and we worry," said Shirley Edillion, regional founder and organizer. "But it all seems to come together at the end. The kids love it, and it gives them the kind of hands-on experience they may not always get in the classroom.
"Besides helping them develop creativity, it's exciting for them to participate. It's a lot of work, but it's really rewarding."
First- and second-place teams in each problem go on to state competition, Lackey said. After that, teams go to international competition, to be held in Ames, Iowa, in May. This year for the first time teams from Japan, Poland and West Germany will participate, Lackey said.
The winning schools in each division follow:
Geographic Odyssey, Division II. 1. Botetourt Intermediate. 2. Pulaski Middle. 3. Dalton Intermediate (Radford).
Geographic Odyssey, Division III. 1. Franklin County High Team B. 2. Radford High. 3. William Byrd High.
Omitronic Humor, Division I. 1. Breckinridge Elementary (Botetourt). 2. Gilbert Linkous Elementary Team B (Blacksburg). 3. (tie) Scope Program A (West Salem Elementary), Troutville Elementary.
Omitronic Humor, Division II. 1. Pulaski Middle. 2. Hidden Valley Junior High (Roanoke). 3. North Cross (Roanoke).
Omitronic Humor, Division III. 1. James River High. 2. Pulaski High. 3. Cave Spring High.
Seven Wonders of the World, Division I. 1. Gilbert Linkous Elementary (Blacksburg). 2. Christiansburg Elementary. 3. South Salem Elementary.
Seven Wonders of the World, Division II. 1. Community School (Roanoke). 2. Troutville Elementary. 3. (tie) Botetourt Intermediate and Blacksburg Middle.
Seven Wonders of the World, Division III. 1. Northside High. 2. James River High. 3. Blacksburg High.
Structures in Harmony, Division I. 1. Gilbert Linkous Elementary Team A (Blacksburg). 2. Margaret Beeks Elementary (Blacksburg). 3. Troutville Elementary.
Structures in Harmony, Division II. 1. Stonewall Jackson Middle Team B (Roanoke). 2. Andrew Lewis Middle (Salem). 3. Northside Junior High (Roanoke County).
Structures in Harmony, Division III. 1. Radford High. 2. Blacksburg High. 3. Carlisle High (Martinsville).
Recycle, Division I. 1. Oak Grove Elementary Team A (Roanoke County). 2. Colonial Elementary (Botetourt). 3. Gilbert Linkous Elementary (Blacksburg).
Recycle, Division II. 1. Hidden Valley Junior High (Roanoke). 2. North Cross (Roanoke). 3. Roanoke Catholic.
Ranatra Fusca Creativity Awards (going to students or teams who demonstrate exceptional creativity): 1. Henry Elementary (Franklin County). 2. Alisha Todd. 3. Erin MacDonald. 4. Scott Alexander. 5. James River High. 6. Community School. 7. Jeffrey Varner. 8. Nathan Brown. 9. Radford High. 10. Sherman Martin. 11. Oak Grove Elementary A Team. 12. Lisa Wood. 13. Jonathan Fried. 14. Jason Fox. 15. Amy Ranch. 16. Sarah McCorkle. 17. Carmen Badineloi. 18. Jacquelin Martin. 19. Ryan Waters. 20. Margaret Beeks Elementary. 21. Gilbert Linkous Elementary B Team. 22. Gilbert Linkous Elementary A Team. 23. Ian Anderson.
by CNB