Odyssey of the Mind: QV Third Graders Place First in Regional Competition

A team of Osborne Elementary third graders recently placed first in the Western Pennsylvania Regional Odyssey of the Mind competition – advancing to the state finals on April 13.  

More than 800 students from a 22-county area participated in the OM  tournament, which was held at Moon Area High School.

Quaker Valley's team of seven third graders competed against teams in grades four and five. Led by parent and coach Jeff Christensen, the team includes Isabella Bock, Lilly Capezzuto, Stella Christensen, Ilijana Hasak, Jhon Freddy Krebs, Owen Petronick and Taylor Retzlaff. 

The Osborne students completed a problem titled, “Pet Project,” which required the team to build three vehicles, each of which must use a different method of propulsion.

Each vehicle has to successfully run their course three times, bringing with it a piece of a pet to an assembly area. Once all nine parts arrive, the pet is assembled, and the completed pet must perform a trick.

The Osborne team's vehicles used concentrated air, spring tension and a slingshot as its propulsion mechanisms. 

“The team explored many methods and made dozens of working (and sometimes not working) prototypes along the way until they reached their final designs,” Christensen said in a news release. 

Quaker Valley had 63 students compete on nine teams – three from Edgeworth Elementary, four from Osborne Elementary and two from Quaker Valley Middle School.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students.

The Pennsylvania State Finals Tournament will be held at Pocono Mountain East High School in Swiftwater, PA. The World Finals are May 22-25 at Iowa State University.

Information provided by Quaker Valley School District.

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