Students begin creative odyssey

There is no one right answer to a problem presented by Odyssey of the Mind, a new program at The Healdsburg School that encourages students to find creative solutions to problems presented at a national level. The program fosters creativity, open-minded thinking and teamwork, according to program coordinator Danit Cave.
“Teams of up to seven kids led by one coach get together and work on one of usually five different problems,” said Cave. “It is an annual thing they present at a regional competition. If they win, they go to state, so the whole idea is for kids to be creative and think outside the box and come up with solutions to open-ended problems.”
Of the six problems Odyssey of the Mind puts out for school groups to select from, one is a primary problem, which is automatically assigned to all groups grades K-2. This year, according to Danit, “It’s like they have to create and interpret what the world’s first prehistoric art festival would have been like.” Activities for the primary problem include making a replica of a cave painting, composing an original song and choreographing their own prehistoric dance.
“I think it’s so worthwhile,” said Gail Jonas, grandparent of students who attend The Healdsburg School and assistant coach for one of the first grade teams. “It’s an incredibly creative endeavor. If these young people start in it early and stay in it, they wind up being very successful people in terms of being productive, happy and creative.”
Jonas said she was so excited to participate in her group’s project she dug out all her “National Geographic” magazines going back to 1981, and even volunteered to organize field trips to the Russian River bed.
“If all schools had this and adults participated, I think it would just be an incredible thing for kids,” she said.
Other grades at The Healdsburg School, from the third grade through college, may choose from any of the problems, which range from a challenge to construct a vehicle with a unique propulsion system to engineering a type of mechanical “not so haunted” fun house. The groups will be judged in different divisions based on their grades, Danit said, at a tournament to be held at the Santa Rosa High School on March 8.
Odyssey of the Mind was started 35 years ago by a professor in New Jersey, who had 28 different colleges compete on a particular type of creative problem. Since then, Odyssey of the Mind has grown into an international program.
Although this is only the first year The healdsburg School has adopted the program, already 69 out of 171 students have signed up to participate, and where most schools assemble two teams for the competition, The Healdsburg School has put 11 teams together.
“I think it has to do with our little school,” said Cave. “It’s really focused on this love of learning platform…it goes hand-in-hand with what Odyssey is about, thinking outside the box, making learning fun.”