Fairfield CT at Odyssey Of the Mind World Finals

On March 16th, 2024, the 43rd Annual Connecticut Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament took place at Southern Connecticut State University. Odyssey of the Mind is an international, collaborative, and creative problem-solving program for kindergarten through college-aged students. It is very important to note that this is a competition entirely self-driven by the students. Parents cannot aid in solving the problem!

As fate would have it, this group of 4th and 5th boys found each other and came together to form a PTAC Multi-School Odyssey of the Mind Team for Fairfield at the competition. The team, headed by Elly Fatehi and Melissa Fitzgerald-Liceaga, was in Division 1, which is for grades 3-5. 4th-grade team members Sam Safaverdi (Mill Hill), Aiden Aryne (Mill Hill) and Esben Chou (Holland Hill) along with 5th-grade team members Miles O’Connor (Osborn Hill), Peter Ostrowski (Osborn Hill), Liam Liceaga (Holland Hill) and Erik Prokhorov (Riverfield), tackled Problem 4: Deep Space Structure.

They worked together for months on a skit that involved an original mystery portraying a balsa wood structure discovered in deep space that they performed live in eight minutes in front of a panel of judges. The structure was able to withstand 480 lbs. before collapsing. Not only did the students write the skit and build the balsa wood structure on their own, but they also constructed their set and props themselves out of recycled materials. The team was also given a time-limited, hands-on spontaneous STEM problem to solve on competition day, which they aced, receiving the Jill Riggles Award for the highest score in the spontaneous portion of the competition for their division and problem. This event is the true embodiment of all STEM curricula and education.

After winning first place at the State level, our team is heading to the World Finals at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa this May, representing Fairfield and Connecticut for the Division 1 structure problem. This trip is quite costly, and we will need to cover:

● Transportation for the children, their coaches, and parents (6 of the 7 families are able to make the trip to Iowa)

● Room and Board on the campus at Iowa State University

● Transportation for the large (and essential) props to Iowa

● 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 4th and 5th graders, who have demonstrated collaboration, teamwork, and creativity throughout this process. They have grown so much, and attending Worlds will be a milestone they can be proud of for a lifetime! Hopefully, it will prompt 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!