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Southlake Carroll ISD students put their creativity, teamwork and problem-solving skills on the world stage this spring at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, held May 27-30 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
Around 700 teams from across the United States and around the globe competed in the international creative problem-solving competition. Carroll began the season with 20 teams at the North Texas Regional Tournament, with 16 advancing to State Finals in Houston and seven CISD teams earning a trip to World Finals.
Two Carroll ISD teams finished in the top five.
Eubanks Intermediate School placed second in Problem 1, “Off the Rails,” Division 2, competing against 56 teams. Team members Kayden Shidham, Juliet Hamilton, Declan Lutterbach, Hunter Gottlieb, Sofia Larson, Sydney Trueblood and Varen Admal were coached by Brittany Shidham, with co-coaches Ann Lutterbach and David Burr.
For their challenge, the team had to build a functional train engine that could autonomously pick up three cars and cargo, which then combined to create a work of art. They also had to incorporate the engineering feat into an original, humorous eight-minute performance. The Eubanks students powered their train engine with a syringe and weights, then built a storyline around a band traveling through the musical eras of swing, rock and disco while facing a villain who hated music. The students wrote and performed original songs, created layered artwork on shower curtains featuring their own sheet music and handled the technical design themselves.
Rockenbaugh Elementary School placed fifth in Problem 3, “The Epic Quest,” Division 1, competing against 63 teams. Team members JD Alwine, Vaikha Garlapati, Leonie Gourdon, Oliver Rurka, Anika Anil, Ariv Anil and Sanchi Rajpal were coached by Cynthia Beam, with co-coaches Sapna Sudhir and Ruma Malhotra.
Their challenge asked students to create an epic quest featuring a hero, sidekick, monster and obstacle, all told through an original epic poem. The Rockenbaugh team centered its story on a student pianist overcoming the beast of self-doubt in order to audition for the school play. The team wrote and sang original songs and created a color-changing beast using paint chip samples inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and “Sunflowers,” representing the shift from doubt to confidence.
Other Carroll ISD teams also earned strong finishes, including Carroll Senior High School, which placed 14th in Problem 3, Division 3; Eubanks Intermediate School, which placed 16th in Problem 4, Division 2; Durham Intermediate School, which placed 17th in Problem 5, Division 1; and two Carroll High School/Senior High School teams that placed 28th and 29th in Problem 4, Division 3.
Odyssey of the Mind challenges students to solve open-ended problems through original thinking, performance, engineering, design and teamwork. This year, Carroll students once again proved they could think big — and compete with some of the most creative young minds in the world.