Help Send Our Creative Problem-Solvers to World Finals

Learning from Odyssey of the Mind

This year, Kilmer Middle School students participated in Odyssey of the Mind, an international educational program that provides problem-solving opportunities focused on developing original solutions to open-ended problems. Teams showcase their ideas through performances, engineering, and teamwork, emphasizing innovation, collaboration, and fun.

This year, the "Power Racers" created an 8-minute skit that involved building a self-powered vehicle to overcome three types of obstacles, while telling a story of two racers competing for a prize. They wrote the script, engineered the vehicle, made their own costumes and props (mostly out of recycled materials to stay within their budget of $185)! It has been a wild, fun ride of overcoming challenges and learning to try and try again. They have learned how to manage a budget, solve problems "outside the box", think on their feet, and pivot when unexpected challenges arise. They have also learned that the process can be more important than the end result. The team has been working on this since September and have spent countless hours to make make this happen!

An Invitation to World Finals

Kilmer Middle School's team placed second at State Finals on April 26th and earned a coveted opportunity to attend the World Finals, held on the campus of Michigan State University, in late May. The cost for each student to attend is about $1,000.

How You Can Help

We have a long way to go to reach our goal of $5,500 to defray to costs of sending students to World Finals at Michigan State University. We need your help to meet our goal. We are hoping to raise $4,000 with GoFundMe, and the kids will also be holding bake sales to earn the additional $1000 to fund their trip.

The Costs

The cost of housing and food at World Finals is $730 for each student. In addition to housing and food, we need to pay for transportation to Michigan for students and all the props, along with supporting the team with some of the activities at World Finals. The estimated cost per student to attend is $1000.

An Experience to Remember

The chance to go to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Michigan is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Being on a college campus, surrounded by passionate and creative students from around the world (China, South Korea, Poland, etc.), will be an inspiring experience these students will remember for the rest of their lives. We are grateful for any help you can provide to creative and hardworking kids!

Learn More

Here is a short video about Odyssey of the Mind, if you are curious.