The Odyssey of the Mind World Finals returned to Iowa State for the third time. Iowa State also hosted the world finals in 1990 and 1994. The competition ran Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1. Participants, coaches and judges began arriving on campus Tuesday, May 28. An estimated 14,000 visitors from all over the world, including 7,000 participants representing 740 teams, were on campus.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international problem-solving competition that emphasizes teamwork and creativity. In four age divisions, it involves student teams from kindergarten through college in problems written each year for the last 18 years by the OM Association, based in Glassboro, NJ.
During World Finals, the residence halls were filled to capacity. Competitions were held in Scheman, Fisher, Stephens, Lied Rec Center, PEB, Music, Memorial Union, Kildee, and Pearson. Except for the spontaneous problem, all OM competitions were open to the public at no charge.
In addition, "OMers" used Beyer Hall for recreation and State Gym was the site of a creativity festival. Beyer and State gyms were closed to public recreation those days.
Editor's note: Thanks to all FP&M staff members who helped plan, prepare, and oversee the OM event.