The Flowery Branch High School "Weird Science" team won First Place Saturday at the Odyssey of the Mind State Finals on April 14. This team tackled a NASA sponsored problem where the team selected a photograph taken from the Observer in space of a geological event naturally occurring here on earth. The team built a pneumatic piston to lift a volcano and lower it demonstrating a collapsed volcano; they also designed and built a remote control vehicle with an electromagnet to collect samples. Their performance scores, combined with technical device scores, and spontaneous problem solving scores awarded the State Champions title to the Flowery Branch High School team. The team members are Chandler Brown, Nick Fletcher, Bridget Lawson, Derick Leach, Trevor Maddox, and Zachary Magowan--coached by Kim Carroll and Cheri Greer.

The Johnson High School "Starry Knight Players" team won 2nd Place at the State Finals on April 14. The team put a musical theatre spin on one of William Shakespeare's most famous lines: "To Be Or Not To Be." In the comedic style of the theater of the absurd, Hamlet, the title character, ponders the question "To jump or not to jump" and realizes that the easy way out is not always the correct choice. Our original "Hamlet" character, a box of raisins, faced a team-created dilemma-she had 8 minutes to her expiration date. Unlike Shakespeare's Hamlet, the team's character took the easy way out only to discover that it was the wrong choice-jumping out of the cabinet to try to reach the mouth of the cabinet owner resulted in her landing under the fridge with insane expired food where she would be forced to suffer for all eternity. The team also incorporated a character that portrays Hamlet's conscience-"Sensei" a dispenser of fortune cookies, a creative scene change, a creative costume change, and use of a "trap door."  It's safe to say the JHS team was both shocked and thrilled to have qualified for the 2012 World Finals because this is the first year the school has ever had a team to enter the OM competition. Team members are Joel Crumbley, Austin Germick, Pedro Vera, Hannah Bennett, Jaymyria Etienne, Emma Rowlett, and Kayla Key--coached by Jody Key, along with student coaches Candi Barfield and Delaney Ross.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.