POCONO SUMMIT, PA — Thinking outside the box is the name of the game for Odyssey of the Mind, an international creative problem-solving competition. The program emphasizes teamwork and quick thinking, while giving K-12 students an outlet to nurture and showcase their STEAM skills – science, technology, engineering, art, and math. And at the regional tournament on February 25, teams from Delaware Valley and Shohola advanced to the state finals. 

“It was so exciting and inspiring to see the next generation display their creativity this year,” said Ryan Balton, NEPA public relations director. 

The local kids and others from the region will match up against teams from across Pennsylvania in April. 

Students started their journey in the fall, when they formed teams and received their long-term problems, which ranged from engineering to theatrical performance in nature. The teams spent the school year developing an eight-minute performance to present their solutions.

This year’s long-term problems included designing a ride-on “pirate ship,” creating a Rube Goldberg machine, putting a creative spin on the “Trojan Horse” story, building a structure with multiple parts out of balsa wood and testing its strength with weights, and telling a humorous story about a character who overreacts to common events. 

The region also presented its Karl Schneck Jr. Memorial Scholarship, in memory of the past NEPA regional co-director, to high school senior Jessica Rhule of Delaware Valley, Courtney Dorsey of the Northampton Area School District and Maisy Earl of Abington Heights. 

The state finals will take place at Lock Haven University on April 1.

Learn more here.