
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994                   TAG: 9405190154
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THEY'RE GOING GREAT GLUE

They're the Hot Glues Brothers - five students at Cave Spring Junior High School who like mental challenges. And they're going to the World Finals of the Odyssey of the Mind competition at Iowa State University next month, where they'll take on teams from China, Russia, Poland, Germany, Mexico and other countries.

They won't be satisfied unless they return to the Roanoke Valley as winners.

Their name comes from the hot-glue gun they use to build their mini-terrain vehicles; and, boy, are they bonded: They worked together for eight months on the project and went on to win the Roanoke Regional Competition and first place in their category in the Virginia State Finals..

As a result, the team was invited to the World Finals, with its Olympic trappings including opening ceremonies, campus living, pin and T-shirt trading and international gatherings.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative intellectual competition. Students must design and build vehicles or other equipment to solve problems.

The Cave Spring students compete in the mini-terrain vehicle division. For the regional and state competition, they designed and built six vehicles. They used cigar boxes, pieces of wood, rubber bands, electric screwdrivers, batteries and other material to make the vehicles, which are about a foot long and six inches wide.

In the mini-terrain competition, the vehicles must travel 20 feet and burst a balloon or climb over obstacles. The team receives points for popping balloons and completing other problems along the course.

For the world finals, the team must build two additional vehicles. One must be engineered to travel through sand, and the other must travel through water. The team has had less than a month to get ready for the world competition.

Nick Beazley, a team member, said the students have built a vehicle they believe will travel through water. Now they're working on sand.

The competition also includes a dramatic skit that must be linked to the mini-terrain problem and the vehicles. The students must complete all elements in the competition within eight minutes.

Besides Beazley, the team members are Jason Trompeter, Matthew Garrett, Jonathan McCann and David Wilson.

When team members aren't practicing, they're trying to raise money to pay for the trip, which will cost more than $500 for each team member and parent who goes along.

Margaret Beazley, mother of Nick, said the students have been diligently preparing for the finals,

"This is a team with determination, creativity and ingenuity," she said. "This team has a chance to be the best in the world. Don't be surprised.''

by CNB