After placing first at state finals, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School’s Odyssey of the Mind team has qualified for the World Finals competition in Ames, Iowa, in May. Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving program that challenges students to think outside the box, collaborate under pressure, and present original solutions to complex problems. The Colonials’ six-member team competed in a performance-based challenge and rose to the top of Division 3 across the entire state of very competitive Pennsylvania.
For their long-term problem, the team created an original magical musical following a poet whose words have the power to rewrite reality — if only he can overcome his crushing writer’s block. The performance featured stunning hand-crafted sets and costumes, an intricate marionette King, and a fully original score with six original songs — all brought to life for under $145. Every element was conceived, built, and performed entirely by the students themselves with no outside assistance. The team devoted around 1600 hours from September to March to create their performance. The team is currently raising money for the travel costs to the World Finals, as well as costs to ship their delicate sets, props, and costumes.
You can help the team in three ways:
- Visit their creativity booth this Saturday at Whitemarsh Township Day offering face painting and creative arts and crafts for donations and also introducing young students to the Odyssey program
- Dine and Donate at FWOT in Conshohocken on Wed April 29th and Panera Conshohocken May 13th
- Donate through the fundraising page https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-for-odyssey-world-finals
Photos: Submitted