Youths seek imaginative solutions to comp

[ ; A
[8X DFOBIEIMS by Herb Wels

also New Jersey's Director of Gifted
Children Education.

Each year. Micklus and Gourley crank
up anew round cf intellectual gvmnas-
tics, the former writing the problems and
the latter coordinating the competition
among an increasing number of schools.
Participation is open to students ranging
from 5 to 18,"who make up teams 2s5-
signed by age to three different competi-
tive divisions. Each division has rules
which range in difficulmn and scope, pos-
ing a challenge not only to ingenuity and
teamwork, but to the youngsters’ sense
of the theatrical and to their ability to
think spontaneously.

Says Micklus: “Our kindergartners
come up with some of the most creative
solutions—probably since nodody has
bothered to tell them that it's impossible
to do something.”

OM problems are frequently 2s off-
beat as they are challenging. In vears
past, participants have been asked to
build “earthquake structures” of baisa
wood within specific size limitations.
These structures were judged on their
ability to support the greatest weight,
which was added in 50-pound barbell in-

crements. To complicate things, five-

STANDARD OILER / SEPTEMBER- OCTOBER 1983

pound shotputs were dropped nearoy
with threatening regularity. simulating
earthquakes.

Another earlier competition caiiec
“Strike It Rich” challenged a blindfolded
team member to find his way to an “assay
office” carrying popcorn kermels simulat-
ing gold nuggets. Without speaking
word, other team members had to guide
him around pitfalls and beobytraps.
Within a span of seven minutes, teams
had to develop an unspoken guidance
system and put it into practice.

Teams reaching this year’s finals were
required to select two from a group of
five challenging problems. One of these
was based upon Leonarde da Vinci's
concept for a spring-driven vehicie. To
make the idea work (Leonardo didn’t get
around to this), most teams tumed to
giant rubber bands. The vehicles had to
carry their drivers around an obstaciz
course, then undergo changes of design
from the 16th to the 20th century befor
compieting the course.

In a variation on the preceding year's
structures, more balsa wood towers were
erected, again subjected to ever-increas-
ing amounts of weight. This year, howev-
er, their integrity was jeopardized by a 2-

inch vertical hoie in the middie and by
lateral onsiaugnts from “wrecking balls”
which in reality were Dilliard bails.

The creation of appropriate costumes.
and the composition of dramatic skits
and original songs to accompany their
presentations. add to team points. In an-
other phase of the competition stressing
spontaneity of response. the quantity
and ingenuity of team members’ answers
to questions on chosen subject matter
also are judged.

“As one might imagine.” says Jones.
who attended this year's finals. “these
kids arrive in town ina highly psyched-up
state. The organizers wisziy keep them
busy at a number of preliminary events to
burn off some of this nervous energy.”

One of these is a competition between
states. This vear. all teams from each
state in attendance were asked to com-
bine their creative input te design an “u2-
usual” hat. One of the most memorable
was an outsize Yankee baseball cap un-
der which the 15 New York finalists
marched proudly around the field house.

Team coaches compete, too. They had
to design a vehicle to race from one side
of the gymnasium to the other powered
only by a mousetrap spring. Amazingly.
most of the contraptions did.

Another Socal employee present this
year at Mt. Pleasant was Luis Carrasco,
an operator at the El Paso Refinery. He
and his wife Ana Dolores attended as
coaches of the West Texas champion OM
team from Glen Elementary
School in El Pasc. Carrasco’s daughter
Stepnanie was an ailernate team mem-
ber. The refinery had given $1,200 to heip
underwrite travel expenses.

Part of OM's philosophy is to convince
participanis that whether they win in the
fnals or not. they are already champions
back home, and that can’: be taken from
them. Tne understandable ietdown at
the nationals which afflicts defeated
reams is thus minimized.

Olympics of the Mind is an artempt to
give today’s youngsters & new apprecia-
don for the virtues of innovation and
experimentation in the search for alter-
ante sajutions to unusually dificult prot
jiems., When thes become adults. thes
should be prepared to devise similarly
creative solutions to some of the pram

see

iems that willcome with matunty.

Cove