Top: Preshay Deans, in a less exultant
mood, at the wheel, or tiller, of Horizons-
on-Hudson’s spring-driven car.
Above: A World Series game has
nothing cn an Otympics of the Mind
competition when it comes to excite-
ment and crowd involvement.

Right: A plumed driver {rom the

Tabb Intermediate Schoot of Virginia
shows classic driving skill at the

New Jersey regionals,

Competition is in three divisions
i kindergarten through grade 5; grades
§ through §: and grades 9 through 12),
and the probiems are not common to
all of them. For example, in this vear's
competition. the youngest division was
not asked to make a working model of
a Leonardo da Vinci spring-driven car,
as were the other two divisions. A lit-
tle too tough.

That's not tc say that elementary-
grade childre’ n't handle the diffi-
cult problems. ime third-grade girls
from Oklahoma put together a balsa
wood structure that held more than
500 pounds.

As we are talking, Micklus’ wife,
Carole, enters. tells him there is a call
from a group in Louisiana that needs
some information about one of the
problems. He says he will call back.
Carole Mickius serves as executive di-
rector of Oivmpics of the Mind, and,
she says, “you are now sitting at the
dining room woie in the world head-
quarters.”

We have asked Micklus about his
family, and he confirms with his wife
that their children, Denise. Bart and
Sam, are, respectively, 24, 22 and 21.

“We got married in 1960, didn’t
we?” he asks.

She smiles indulgently. “No. In

1958. We will celebrate our 25th anni-

versary this vear.” She pauses. “You
can see why Sam is so good at creating
problems. He doesn't clutter his mind
with details."a

What's at stake

Why did :3a underwrite the “I,
Leonardo” broadcast and mail a pack-
age of classroom materiais to more
than 22,000 schools?

John Opel supplies the answer.

“Students should be encouraged
in every possibie way,”’ says Ina’s
chairman. “That holds true for the full
spectrum of educational interests
—from the technical disciplines and
mathematics to the humanities.

“Good education depends on com-
munity participation in local re-
sources such as schools, museums and
libraries. The availability of well-
educated, skilled people is crucial to
America's future and its position in
the world economy.”