Send Mills Park Elementary School OM Teams to Michigan

Help Send Mills Park Elementary School Odyssey of the Mind Teams to the Finals at Michigan State University!

Dear Friends, Family, and Community Supporters,

We are excited to share that four incredible teams from Mills Park Elementary School, have earned the opportunity to represent North Carolina and compete in the Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Finals at Michigan State University in May 2025! This is a monumental achievement for our talented students, and now, we need your help to get them to the finals.

What is Odyssey of the Mind?

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition where students from all over the world work together in teams to solve complex, open-ended problems. These problems range from engineering challenges to creative performances, encouraging teamwork, critical thinking, and innovation. Teams are tasked with designing and building their own solutions. After competing in the Regional and State-level tournament, four of our teams now have a chance to showcase their talents, skills, and ideas in front of a global audience.

Why is This Important?

For our students, the opportunity to participate in the Finals is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It will allow them to:

Our Journey So Far

The journey so far for each team has been unique but what they have in common is the result of countless hours of hard work, dedication, and collaboration. Our teams have spent months preparing, problem-solving, and building solutions that have impressed local judges. Now, they have earned their spot at the Odyssey of the Mind Finals, and we couldn’t be prouder of them!

The Challenge Ahead

While the excitement is palpable, the reality of sending four teams to the Finals comes with significant costs. Travel expenses, lodging, meals, and registration fees are all expenses that we need to cover to make this dream a reality.

How You Can Help

We are asking for your generous support to help cover half of the costs associated with sending our teams to Michigan State University. Your donation will help pay for:

Any amount, big or small, will make a difference and help us get one step closer to our goal. Together, we can make this incredible experience possible for our students!

How to Donate

Please click the "Donate" button on this page to contribute to our fundraising campaign. You can also share this page with your friends, family, and social networks to help spread the word and increase our impact.

Thank you for your generosity and support. We are beyond excited for our students to represent Mills Park Elementary School and our community at the Odyssey of the Mind Finals, and with your help, we can make this dream come true.

Together, we can empower our students to go further, think bigger, and achieve greatness!

Sincerely,

The Odyssey of the Mind Teams

Mills Park Elementary School

Cary, NC

Words from the Coaches

Team 4A:

' Our Odyssey team brought together 7 students, some good friends already and some meeting others for the first time. Through the past 4 months they have learned to support and challenge each other (and themselves) as they made their performance, props, and structure. They do everything themselves, with the coaches there to keep them on track but not to do any of the work (which is part of the rules). The students worked on a plot structure, added humor and drama, and finalized the script. They made their own costumes, props, and for their problem (problem 4), designed and built a structure to support weight. Their first structure in practice held about 50 pounds. Through improvements and practice, they were able to build an 18 gram structure that could hold over 700 pounds! Odyssey has been a great way to learn and grow as creators and as teammates, not to mention a lot of fun!' - From Thor Duryea, Team 4A

Team 4B:

'Our team consists mostly of third graders and many first time OMers. Together as a team they learned to design and build a structure with Balsa wood sticks that could hold a large weight. They started their engineering journey learning to build weight-bearing structures with toothpicks and gummy bears. In a few months they built a balsa wood structure that could hold over 500 pounds! The kids didn't give up when their designs failed, structures broke and kept surprising us with their progress week after week. In addition to this fairly technical challenge, they also poured in their fun, creative, cheerful, silly selves into a script and staged a play, complete with a song and dance! It was such a wonderful journey to witness. - From Felcy Selwyn, Team 4B