Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind is a student-led program for young minds to grow! Some traits fostered during Odyssey is creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, and growth mindset to name a few. Odyssey of the Mind teaches students how to think in different ways by providing open-ended problems. Students learn to work through challenges and to think creatively to solve those problems. 

Teams of 5-7 students are formed to work on a long-term problem. We meet once a week for 2 hours after school. Parent volunteers serve as “coaches” for each team. We also have volunteers to take on the role of official judges and competition day volunteers. Students and team go through so much in understanding the problem, writing the skit, designing/building the set, creating and making props, acting, presenting, and working through challenges. We learn greatly from when things do not work out as planned. We learn about communicating and working with teammates. We learn that we can be brave by stepping up. Our end-goal is to compete at the Silicon Valley Regional Odyssey of the Mind competition. Being able to present our problem on competition day in itself is a win for the team! Odyssey of the Mind is a true journey for the students and team.