Help Send the Durham Odyssey Team to Worlds

On April 6, 2019, after months of hard work, and two qualifying tournaments, a team of 4th and 5th graders from Durham Community School earned a spot at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals to compete against teams from all over the United States and the World.  Please join our fund-raising efforts to help send the team and their dedicated coaches to the World Tournament at Michigan State University May 21st-May 26th. 

Odyssey of the Mind is a world-wide creative problem-solving program that challenges students of different age groups to work together to come up with unique and entertaining solutions to a predetermined problem.  Every year the program poses a series of problems, with a list of required elements. 

This year the Durham team chose a problem focused on the works of Leonardo da Vinci, looking into his inventions and great works of art.   They had to recreate three of da Vinci’s works in non-traditional ways, one of which was Moaning Lisa, a whiny denizen of da Vinci’s studio!   While the presentations always generate a lot of laughter, there is serious learning going on.  The problems mix science, technology, engineering, history, theater, and art to allow each student to tap into their individual strengths and push each other beyond their comfort zones.   The collaborative process, and the tight bonds fostered by months of work, reinforce the importance of listening and respecting differing ideas and opinions, and allow risk taking and academic exploration. 

For more information about Maine Odyssey of the Mind, please go to www.meodyssey.org/about.    For more information about the Durham program, please visit the Durham Community School Odyssey of the Mind Facebook page.