Grand Canyon Students Showcasing Problem-Solving Prowess at International Level During Upcoming Odyssey of the Mind World Finals 

GRAND CANYON — April 25, 2008 – Near one of the seven wonders of the natural world, a genuine educational dynasty is alive and growing to international proportions.  Grand Canyon School, featuring only 300 students in grades K-12 living in Grand Canyon National Park, is a legitimate world power when it comes to student problem solving.

Beginning on May 31, a team of seven Grand Canyon elementary school students will test their problem solving prowess against peers from approximately 25 different countries during the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in College Park, Md.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international program providing creative problem solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.  The competition encourages students to apply their creativity to solving problems ranging from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretations of literary classics. 

Grand Canyon School is no stranger to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.  In the 10 years it has participated in the competition, the school has advanced to the World Finals on five separate occasions.  On two of those occasions, Grand Canyon School qualified two separate teams for the World Finals.

The school’s record is even more impressive at the state level – it has never failed to quality for the Arizona state finals.

This time around, Grand Canyon’s students have been tasked to put their engineering and construction skills to work while designing and building a structure using only balsa wood and glue. The team will then test the structure by having it support weights that are balanced on golf balls without touching anything else.

The team has already proven it knows how to build a strong structure, capturing the state title in the category.  Amy McBroom, a co-coach for the Grand Canyon team, said she was impressed with how the students have handled solving the problem.

“This is our first time in 10 years at our school that a team has taken on the structure problem,” McBroom said.  “With little to no experience with building, our team has learned to find resources to guide them into trying to understand what makes structures strong.”

Judi Beckerleg, the creator of Grand Canyon’s Odyssey of the Mind program, has personally seen the impact the program has had on her own son. 

“I remember the day my son first learned to use an axe to cut the wood for his project,” Beckerleg said. “Odyssey of the Mind allows students to get into things they would have never been exposed to otherwise.”

Along the way, her son also learned how to iron and sew during the project– talk about having one versatile kid!

Current team member Traci Curley, 10, said while the competition was “nerve wracking,” it has done wonders for her confidence.

“It has really made a difference for me,” Curley said.  “I really don’t like speaking in front of people, but now I know I can.”

Fellow teammate Ksena Wadsworth, also 10, added: “Now I know I can perform in public.  I wasn’t able to do that before.  The difference Odyssey of the Mind has made for me is the ability to take my ideas along with other people’s ideas and put them together to come up with a solution."