POCONO SUMMIT – Students from across northeast Pennsylvania are putting their heads together for the 2023 NEPA Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament. Over 400 students from 29 schools will go head-to-head at Pocono Mountain West High School on Saturday, February 22. 

 Odyssey of the Mind teams spend the school year designing a solution to their “problems” to present at competitions held around the world each spring. All elements of each team’s solution must be original creations of the students. Their creations must accomplish goals within specific guidelines, and a strict budget.  

“It’s an incredible program that pushes children to think outside the box, while nurturing real-world skills across every academic and artistic discipline,” said Ryan Balton, who volunteers as the program’s public relations director. “We add an ‘A’ to make STEM into STEAM – incorporating the Arts into the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics skill-building activities.”  

Students are tasked this year with building race cars, designing robotic animals, testing the strength of balsa wood structures, and telling dramatic stories about cooking and outer space. Teams also receive a secret spontaneous problem the day of competition, which they must solve on the spot. 

To make Odyssey of the Mind even more special, here in Pennsylvania every aspect of the program is run entirely by volunteers.  

“This tournament couldn’t happen without the time, energy, and dedication of the many volunteers,” said Mary Beth Adelman, NEPA regional director, who’s a volunteer herself. “Special thanks to all coaches who guide, nurture, and give the students opportunities to reach beyond themselves; to the judges whose thoughtful evaluations encourage excellence; to our board members who work out the many details and logistics; and to the Pocono Mountain staff who make our competition possible.”

The Pocono Mountain School District will host the NEPA regional tournament, for the 15th time since 2009. The tournament is open to the public and free to attend. Pocono Mountain has 15 teams competing at the tournament, alongside teams from the Abington Heights, Athens Area, Bangor Area, Delaware Valley, Northampton Area, and Sayre Area School Districts. 

Top performers at the regional tournament will advance to Pennsylvania State Finals at Pocono Mountain East on April 5. Those state finalists will compete for the chance to represent northeast Pennsylvania at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University in May. 

The NEPA region saw six local teams advance to World Finals last year, where they competed against over thousands of students from dozens of different states and countries. 

“Our area has some of the best Odyssey of the Mind competitors in the world every year,” said Balton, who started volunteering after participating in the program throughout elementary and high school. “Our students’ display of creativity and teamwork is more impressive than ever.”

Educators and parents interested in starting an Odyssey of the Mind team can visit paodyssey.com/grants for information about the PA Jumpstart Grant program, which covers the first year of fees.

Businesses and organizations interested in supporting the entirely volunteer nonprofit PA Odyssey of the Mind program can visit paodyssey.com/sponsor for details about sponsorship opportunities.

The NEPA region includes Bradford, Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.

On the web:

NEPA Odyssey of the Mind – nepaootm.com | facebook.com/nepaootm

PA Odyssey of the Mind – paodyssey.com

Odyssey of the Mind International – odysseyofthemind.com