A Crestwood Secondary School Odyssey of the Mind team was awarded first place in the state finals tournament at Lock Haven University on Saturday, April 2.
First- and second-place teams advance to the World Finals tournament. The Crestwood Secondary School advancing team competed in the Division 3 vehicle problem. Additionally, this Crestwood Secondary School team was once again presented with the Ranatra Fusca award at the awards ceremony.
The Ranatra Fusca award is given to teams or individuals who display tremendous creativity at competition. This award represents the essence of the Odyssey of the Mind program. The judges commented that the team showed exceptional knowledge and creative application of various legacy solid state electronic components. This was demonstrated by their ability to design, build and implement advanced control circuits for their vehicles. All vehicles were elegant in design and immaculate in construction. The judges had never seen a vehicle like this team’s gyroscope vehicle before. These were truly examples of advanced, team-made engineering skills that even a seasoned professional would have been proud of.
Crestwood Odyssey teams are all very grateful for the support from the Crestwood Secondary School administration and generous financial support of the Kiwanis Club of Mountain Top. To compete at the World Finals, the team needs to raise over $8,000. If you would like more information on Odyssey of the Mind or to contribute financially to this team please reach out via email to gausaus@aol.com.
Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition, which involves science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). Students from kindergarten through college participate in this international program.
The teams work on a longterm problem throughout the school year and present a longterm problem solution in competition. The longterm problem involves interpreting a problem specification, designing and building a solution to the requirements, developing a creative skit, creating a theatrical set and costumes.
Additionally, during competition, the teams are challenged with a new spontaneous problem that must be solved within several minutes. The teams are ultimately scored on the creativity, engineering, style elements and functionality of the long-term problem solution, spontaneous problem teamwork and creativity of the solutions and responses.
Fundraisers
The is currently running several fundraisers.
• Pizza Bella gift certificates arebeing sold for $11.99 for a pizza, $13 for a buffalo chicken pie, $14.99 for a breakfast pie, $15.50 for any stromboli and $8.25 for a 12-inch cold sub.
• Orloski’s Car Wash gift certificates are being sold for $11 each for a Superwash.
• A fundraiser will be held at the Mountaintop Pub from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 29. Tickers are $25 per person and include pizza, a nacho station, chicken bites, draft beer, wine and soda. There are a limited number of tickets available.
• A GoFundMe page as has also been set up. It can be found at gofund.me/dd7e1248.
To purchase certificates or pub tickets, call 570-249-1233 or email gausaus@aol.com.
The team also has a “GoFundMe” page, go to https://gofund.me/dd7e1248 to donate. Thank you so much for your support!
