Odyssey of the Mind Program at AIS

Odyssey of the Mind

This year AIS is celebrating 10 years of participation in the Odyssey of the Mind program. Teams form in the fall and are often coach by Parent Volunteers.

In the Fall of 2010, AIS started up the Odyssey of the Mind program and represented the Danbury School System for the first time in many years! This exciting program – offered to kids in K through College helps students develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills through fun, creative projects and encourages teamwork and thinking “outside the box.” Odyssey of the Mind has been around for 40 years and is an active program in 39 states and 34 countries! Teams of five to seven children work together to creatively solve one of six given long term problems and prepare for spontaneous problems. A sample spontaneous problem might have the students do the following:

  • Tower of Pasta: Create a tower made from pasta in 7 minutes which will be graded on height and strength.

  • Names and Occupations: Turn a word into a name and related occupation. For example, students can turn alligator into Ali Gater: marine biologist.

  • Furs, Fins and Feathers: Create and present a funny performance about the life of an animal from the animal’s perspective. The students are judged on the play’s humor, the animal’s appearance, its interaction with a human and the animal’s display of feelings.


AIS teams competed against teams from all over CT at the Connecticut Odyssey of the Mind Tournament in March of 2020 at Southern Connecticut State University. This year’s tournament will be held on March 21st, 2020 and at Southern Connecticut State University. AIS staff volunteer their time to act as judges at the state competition. Teams that place 1st or 2nd at the state level will go on to compete at Odyssey of the Mind Worlds at Iowa State University in May, 2020. AIS has had two teams compete at the Odyssey of the Mind Worlds Competition in past years! For more information about Odyssey of the Mind check out www.ctom.org and odysseyofthemind.com.