by Austin Marsman
Four teams from Mar
tin Public Schools put creativity on full display in a worldwide Odyssey of the Mind competition this week in Lansing.
Sending more than 20 students ranging from sixth through 12th grades, Martin was well represented on the world stage.
Three Martin teams competed in a problem involving putting weight on a structure made of balsa wood and glue. In “Ready, Set, Balsa, Build!” constructed structures with certain lengths of wood to hold as much weight as possible, and created an eight-minute presentation to showcase their structures.
• The Middle School Division 2 (A) team, consisting of Eli Dykstra, Zachary Bailey, Javier Guevara, J.T. Krick, Gracie Shettler, Zoie Tuinstra and Kiera Dam and coaches Hannah Bailey and Laura Foster, was ranked 27th.
• The Middle School Division 2 (B) team, including Christopher Tyrrell, JR Cameruci, Drake Buell, James Blackburn, Hope Farr and Logan Kennedy was ranked 34th and was coached by Martin Superintendent Dr. David Harnish and his son, eight-time World Finalist Ben Harnish.
• The Martin High School Division 3 team, which took 25th place, included Austin Marsman, Andrew Dykstra, Katrina White, Sophia Shettler, Mallory Andrews, Carina Andrews and Travis Stone. This team is also coached by Dr. Harnish and his son, with assistance from Rosemary Andrews.
One Martin team competed in a problem that involved team-created vehicles. In “Catch Us If You Can,” the vehicles travel from a parking garage to a secret meeting place. Martin’s Division 3 high school team placed 27th overall with an out-of-this-world performance about intergalactic travel. This team competed in two problems and was mentioned above.
But the competition wasn’t the only thing happening at World Finals. Teams also traded pins, attended a creativity festival, went swimming, saw sights on campus, and met local State Rep. Mary Whiteford (R-80). The entire Martin group also went to support team member Katrina White, who graduated from Odyssey in the Breslin Center Thursday.
According to the Odyssey of the Mind web site “Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving program that engages students in their learning by allowing their knowledge and ideas to come to life in an exciting, productive environment.” Since 1978, Odyssey participants (also known as OMERS) have been challenged to solve problems by thinking out of the box. This year, Michigan State University was host for the 38th annual World Finals. There were 15 countries represented, including China, Switzerland, Poland and Germany.
I’ve been a member of Odyssey of the Mind for three years, and plan to participate next year. This year our team took on something huge, we competed in two problems. This meant twice the time and effort at practices. Never did we imagine that our team would go to World Finals in two problems!
Odyssey of the Mind is such a great experience! I wish that I would have been part of it earlier in my life. So many memories were made in the last few days, I will remember this World Finals for a long time.
This is Austin Marsman reporting for Townbroadcast.
Mr. Marsman,
Well said, good clear report.
Thank you.