On March 29, 2025, the 44th Annual Connecticut Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament took place. Odyssey of the Mind is an international, collaborative, and creative problem-solving program for kindergarten through college-age students. This competition is entirely self-driven by the students. There is no parent involvement.

This group came together from three Fairfield elementary schools to form a PTAC Multi-School Odyssey of the Mind Team for Fairfield at the competition. The team, headed by Elly Fatehi, was in Division 1, which is for grades 3-5. The team consists of 5th graders from Mill Hill Elementary: Sam, Aiden, Nora, Julia, and Danny (3rd Grade). Representing Burr Elementary is Arwa, and from Holland Hill, Esben.

For the second year in a row, they’ve qualified for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University, taking place in May. Since last fall, this group has worked tirelessly—writing and performing an original skit, building imaginative sets and props from recycled materials, and engineering a small but mighty balsa wood structure (under 8 inches and 18 grams) that withstood an astounding 430 lbs before breaking! Their performance was filled with creativity and humor, featuring a veterinarian and the creative use of Arm & Hammer baking soda (the sponsor). In addition to their long-term problem, the team also aced the spontaneous portion of the competition, where they were challenged to solve a STEM problem in real time.

After winning first place at the state level, our team is heading to the World Finals at Michigan State University representing Fairfield and Connecticut for the Division 1 structure problem. The trip is quite costly, and we will need to cover:

- Transportation for the students, coaches, and parents.

- Room and board on the campus.

- Transportation for the large props to Michigan.

- Registration for the competition.

We are asking for help from our community to make this trip possible—no amount is too small! All funds will go directly to helping our students participate in this event that highlights our amazing town and schools. It is such a wonderful educational opportunity for this great group of dedicated students who have demonstrated collaboration, teamwork, and creativity throughout this process. They have grown so much, and attending this event will be a milestone they can be proud of for a lifetime. Our hope is that this will inspire many more students in Fairfield to create their own Odyssey of the Mind teams as well!

For more information about Odyssey of the Mind, please visit https://www.odysseyofthemind.com

We thank you in advance for any support you can give and look forward to sharing our journey with you!