Thousands of students from around the world will converge on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus May 22-25 to compete in the 23rd annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.
About 700 teams will participate in the event, which challenges students to come up with the most creative, original and imaginative ways to solve a selection of problems.
"It is an honor for CU-Boulder to be chosen to host this world championship event where thousands of the world's brightest young minds will come together in the spirit of learning and competition," said CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard Byyny. "I hope the participants and their families have an opportunity to explore our university and surrounding areas while they are here in Colorado."
Each team solves one of five long-term problems and competes against others in the same category and age group. The teams work for months developing their solutions and advance through earlier rounds of competition in their state or country before making it to the finals.
The competitors, who range from elementary school to college grade levels, are scored on how well they meet the requirements of their chosen problem, and in style categories, which allow them to use more creativity in their presentations. A third part of the scoring is the spontaneous problem, a short-term challenge presented to each team on the day they compete.
Odyssey of the Mind organizers expect about 12,000 people to attend the event. That figure includes teams from almost every U.S. state and about 15 countries, along with their coaches, parents, teachers and other supporters. The majority of the attendees will stay on the CU-Boulder campus and in local hotels.
The CU-Boulder spring commencement ceremony is May 10, so most CU students will be gone from campus for the summer during the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.
CU-Boulder is hosting the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals for the third time. The competition was first held on campus in 1989 and then again in 1992.
The Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program whose mission is to develop creative-thinking skills in students from kindergarten through college. The program began in 1978 and has grown to include millions of students worldwide.
Additional information about the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals competition on the CU-Boulder campus will be released over the next three months.
For more information, call (303) 492-5151.