Berthoud Elementary School

The team from Berthoud Elementary, chose the Nature Trail’R, a NASA sponsored problem. The “Trail”R” refers to a trail and a trailer that are included in the problem. The team had to design, build and drive a human-powered vehicle and camper that would go on a camping trip. When the vehicle arrived at the campground, the camper had to be disconnected and the vehicle travel on a team-created Nature Trail. On the Nature Trail, the vehicle had to overcome an obstacle, clean up the environment, encounter wildlife, and undergo a repair. The performance will include a character that is in or near the camper that explains the experience as part of its role.

The team members chose the Amazon Rain Forest as their camping local. The characters in the performance were:

Left to right

Stuart Reckase, 3^rd grade, as Tarzan

Joseph DuToit, 3^rd grade, as the Monkey

Ben Hall, 4^th grade, as Mr. Fixit

Sayber Spence, 5^th grade as Mr. Scaredley

Jessa Megenhardt, 5^th grade, as the Tour Guide

Will Fetzer, 4^th grade, as the Fact Monster

Haley Fischer, 4^th grade, as the Rain Forest Princess

The Berthoud Elementary Division I Odyssey of the Mind team

Coach Gregory Fetzer had this to say about the team.

The team spent the last three months creating and refining their Odyssey of The Mind Nature Trail’s problem solution. Initially, they studied the problem description and developed an understanding of the requirements. As a team, they developed a creative scenario that was designed to entertain the audience while meeting the demands of the problem definition. The team designed and developed the Nature Trail’s raft and camper using a variety of purchased and donated materials. In the latter stages, the team produced props and costumes. The final effort involved writing and refining the script. Getting the skit down to the 8-minute limit was a real challenge.

In addition to developing a great performance, the team practiced a variety of spontaneous exercises, the second important aspect of the Odyssey of the Mind competition. Spontaneous thinking, brainstorming, and team discussion were used throughout to explore ideas and solutions.

As a coach, I found the experience to be tremendously rewarding. After each team meeting I was always very impressed with the creativity and enthusiasm of our youngsters. I am sure the kids learned a great deal from the experience and I know they put their hearts into developing and performing the play.

The kids did an awesome job and really had a lot of fun.

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Ivy Stockwell Elementary School

The Ivy Stock well team, coached by Scott Stewart and Maureen Dower, had two team members from Berthoud Elementary. They also had a kindergarten and first grade student as part of their team. The team members were:

Left to right

Aiden Schaefer – 3rd Grade – Ivy Stockwell

Jacob Oberg – 3rd Grade – Ivy Stockwell

Gage Dower – Kindergarten- Ivy Stockwell

Autumn Bunch – 3rd Grade – Berthoud Elementary

Aidan Stewart – 1st Grade – Ivy Stockwell

Holden Shephard – 3rd Grade – Berthoud Elementary

Ivy Stockwell Odyssey of the Mind team

This team chose the Discovered Treasure problem. They had to create and present an original performance that included the portrayal of the discovery of two archaeological treasures. One portrayal was a team-created version of the discovery of an actual historical treasure. The other was be the team’s depiction of a modern sculpture or structure that exists today but is discovered in the future. The performance had to include an artistic representation of the two discovered treasures and characters that are part of the discovery teams.

The story in pictures:

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