Some of the most creative kids in the state of Michigan were in Traverse City this past weekend to compete in the Odyssey of the Mind state finals.
Traverse City was well represented with nine teams taking on creative challenges in hopes of advancing to the world finals to be held in Iowa in May. Seven of those teams earned the right to compete against the finest young minds from around the world.
Westwoods Elementary, competing in Great Parade, Division I and Traverse City West Senior High, competing in Classics - Ancient Egypt, Division III took first place honors in their respective categories.
Second place finishers, Interlochen Elementary School, Traverse City West Junior High, Immaculate Conception School, Interlochen Pathfinder and a second team from West Senior High, also earned the right to compete.
In addition, the Ancient Egypt team from West Senior High received the Ranatra Fusca award, considered the highest award in Odyssey of the Mind competition, for outstanding creativity.
Nine year Odyssey veteran, Hannah Roman, a senior at West Senior High, used her talents this year to coach a team of fourth-grade boys from Westwoods Elementary. Roman was one of four graduating seniors who earned 2006 Michigan Odyssey scholarships.
Like Roman's team, each of the 142 that competed last weekend, spent most of the school year developing solutions to a variety of pre-set problems that encompass technical, artistic, environmental and classical themes including "The Jungle Bloke," "Geometry Structure," "Ancient Egypt," "Tech Transfer" and "The Great Parade."
Thirty-two of those teams will have to keep practicing for a few more weeks, when they take on their biggest challenge yet at the world finals.
"We worked really hard and practiced a lot, but it is worth it," said fifth-grade student Keegan Tarrant, a member of the Immaculate Conception team.
"We did a lot of research and studying about Egypt to make the sets and the costumes," said Tarrant's teammate, Miranda Winowiecki.
"It just feels really good when you are done and you feel like you have done a good job," Winowiecki noted.