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“I have learned that I can do more on my own than I thought I could,” added Ruffin Nuhfer. “You need to think outside of the box, not just find a typical answer.” “I have learned that being creative means many different things,” said Kavi Chaturvedi-Patil of his OM experience so far. The SLOM team agreed that the experience has been fun as well as eye-opening for them.
Scoring is based on how each team solves their known problem and their surprise one.
In order to do that they created a set for their performance on a limited budget, along with completing most of the other tasks–from choreography to acting–of a regular dramatic production.Īnother important component of the OM competition is a “ Spontaneous” challenge each team receives which tests their ability to think on their feet in front of the judges. The Life is a Circus problem required the group to develop a performance about a young person “who wakes up one day to discover they somehow were transported into a circus world” and which combines elements of the real world with the fantastical. 26, where they placed first in their division, and then at Lock Haven University April 2, where they placed in the Top 3 for their division and advanced to the World Finals to be held May 25-28 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Together, they have worked throughout the school year on solutions to a long-term problem called “Life is a Circus,” which they were required to solve in an eight-minute performance before a panel of judges at competitions at Bryn Athyn College on Feb. The seven members of the Southern Lehigh Odyssey of the Mind (SLOM) team who have advanced to the OM World Finals by winning at regional and state-level competitions are fourth-graders Kavi Chaturvedi-Patil, Ruffin Nuhfer, Matias Araujo, Isabel Henao and Farrah Ingram, and fifth-graders Avantika Crooke and Arden Rosenberg. Through the challenges with which kids are presented–which span aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (S.T.E.A.M.) curricula–the program emphasizes teamwork and teaches budgeting, time management, public speaking and other skills. This skill and self-confidence will carry over to all areas of their lives.” Now imagine not being afraid to solve that problem–that is what OM members learn. “Imagine being faced with a problem that requires an original solution,” the site says. OM was developed at what is now Rowan University in New Jersey in the late 1970s, and has since been embraced globally.Īccording to the Odyssey of the Mind website, the program’s growth can be credited to the fact that it helps children overcome their natural fear of unknown situations. That competition–known as Odyssey of the Mind, or OM–is a creative problem-solving program for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade. Pictured above are the members of the SLOM team, which includes fourth graders Kavi Chaturvedi-Patil, Ruffin Nuhfer, Matias Araujo, Isabel Henao and Farrah Ingram, and fifth-graders Avantika Crooke and Arden Rosenberg.Ī group of Southern Lehigh elementary school students are preparing for one of the biggest adventures of their young lives a learning opportunity that will take them to the heartland of America to compete against their high-achieving peers from across the U.S. Seven Southern Lehigh area youngsters are heading to Iowa in May to compete in the world finals for Odyssey of the Mind, a competition that challenges kids by requiring them to use critical thinking skills and creativity in order to solve problems.