Teams from both D-E’s Upper School (US) and Lower School recently competed in the regional Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Tournament, both learning and succeeding along the way! 

Congratulations to our US Structure Team, for taking 1st Place in their division with a 15g structure that held over 500 lbs and had the highest spontaneous event score of the competition! Congratulations to our rookie US Classics Team, which also earned 1st Place in their division and made the audience laugh with their hilarious script and well-engineered set.  Both US teams now head to the OM state tournament! 

Our Lower School teams, participating through D-E 360°, also competed for the first time this year. While their journey ended at regionals, they worked together well as a team. The structure team built an 18g tower that held 75 lbs – very impressive for 4th graders! Our vehicle team composed an original song for their performance and also collaborated exceptionally well under pressure to troubleshoot a technical difficulty. Both teams received positive accolades from the judging panels. The future is bright for our youngest OM teams! 

OM is a creative problem-solving competition that combines STEM and the performing arts. Teams of students choose a problem in categories such as vehicle, balsa structure, or set design, engineer a solution, and present that solution in a student-written performance, complete with student-designed scenery, props, and costumes.  The process requires lots of perseverance through many iterations.  Students also participate in a spontaneous problem, in which they have 8 minutes to come up with a creative solution to a verbal or hands-on problem.