New Kent team headed to Odyssey of the Mind World Finals

New Kent Elelmentary School’s OM World Finals qualifying team members are (seated, l to r) Madison Kidd, Leah Robinson, and Justin Jones and (standing, l to r) Sam Robinson, Billy Bull, coach Linda Robinson, Kiersten Fuller, and Courtney Kerst.

Seven creative problem-solving students from New Kent Elementary School are Michigan-bound, heading to the Odyssey of the Mind (OotM) World Finals scheduled in May at Michigan State University.

The team of Sam Robinson, Billy Bull, Kiersten Fuller, Courtney Kerst, Madison Kidd, Leah Robinson, and Justin Jones placed second in the Virginia State OotM tournament held last Saturday at John Champe High School in Loudoun County, earning them a spot to compete in the World Finals. All are in grades 3-5. The team is coached by Linda Robinson.

OotM is an international program that focuses on creative problem solving. Teams are given a problem and must think of ways they can solve their problem and then present their solution to a panel of judges. Ten teams from around Virginia competed for the top two spots in the NKES team’s division.

The NKES team’s problem was called Pet Project. They had to design and build three different vehicles using three different propulsion systems to deliver pet parts to an assembly area on three separate runs. Once the pet parts were brought to the assembly area, the pet was put together and then had to perform some kind of trick.

One vehicle had to go through a tunnel, and another had to move a can off a designated spot. All, meanwhile, is demonstrated by creating a story around the problem. The presentation must not exceed eight minutes.

The NKES team met the challenge by creating Winston, a giraffe who is drifting on a raft at sea with his friends– a hippo, a lion, and a zebra. The friends soon realize they are lost at sea, Winston panics, and literally falls apart.

The animals meet up with some clown fish who recommend they get help from Dr. Sturgeon the Surgeon. Dr. Sturgeon has three vehicles for collecting Winston’s parts so the doctor can put Winston back together. Once the task is completed, Dr. Sturgeon gives Winston magical powers. Winston’s trick is that with his new powers, he is able to help the clown fish hatch their eggs.

“All it took was sweat, determination, and a whole lot of duct tape,” quipped fifth grader Sam Robinson after his team took first place at last month’s regional tournament.

The team will compete with other students from across the U.S. and around the world in the finals at Michigan State.