Odyssey Inclusive - A New Odyssey of the Mind Initiative!
The focus in Odyssey Inclusive is to provide opportunities for neurodiverse students and students with disabilities to enhance their visual and performing arts skills, social skills, teamwork, academics, and creative problem solving abilities through a challenging and FUN learning process by encouraging thinking beyond the box! Odyssey Inclusive is part of Odyssey of the Mind, which is an international creative problem-solving competition for students in Kindergarten-College. The premise is that creativity and teamwork are skills that can be taught and further developed with practice. The program culminates each year at a local tournament with qualifying teams giving a performance demonstrating their solution to a problem provided by Odyssey Inclusive and also solving a problem on the spot (called spontaneous!). All teams are celebrated for their hard work at the awards ceremony.
This video provides a brief overview of Odyssey of the Mind. Neurodiverse students and students with disabilities have always been welcome in Odyssey of the Mind, and Odyssey Inclusive provides another opportunity for them to participate with appropriate and varied accommodations built into the program. Check out the Odyssey Inclusive Program Guide for more details about and rules for the program.
Our Mission
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At Odyssey Inclusive, our mission is to provide creative problem solving and performing arts opportunities for neurodiverse students and students with disabilities by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Odyssey Inclusive Program Director
Dr. Lynn Larsen, program creator and National Director for Odyssey Inclusive, has extensive experience in the field of special education and in Odyssey of the Mind. She was a middle and high school special education teacher before completing her PhD in special education and working as a professor in teacher education. In addition, she and her husband Paul were their twins’ Odyssey of the Mind coaches for 10 years before Lynn was asked to serve as California Odyssey of the Mind state director. She guided that organization for 10 years before stepping down in June of 2023. The concept of Odyssey Inclusive had been a long term goal, and after turning the reins of the state over to a new state director, she had time to pursue that goal. With the blessing of Sammy and Cheryl Micklus, and with the support of the Creative Opportunities Unlimited board, Odyssey Inclusive has become a reality!
History of the Odyssey of the Mind Program
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Odyssey of the Mind (OM) was started by Dr. C. Samuel Micklus, who is kindly known as Dr. Sam. The program has its roots in the Industrial Design classes Dr. Sam taught at Rowan University in New Jersey. As a professor, Dr. Sam challenged his students to create vehicles without wheels, mechanical pie throwers, and flotation devices that would take them across a course on a lake. He evaluated them not on the success of their solutions, but on the ingenuity applied and the risk involved in trying something new and different. Students had fun and created some incredible solutions, including the original Ranatra Fusca flotation device, which is now the name of OM’s outstanding creativity award!
Word spread and the students’ activities attracted attention from the local media. Soon, students outside of the university wanted to take part in this amazing creative opportunity. This public interest led Dr. Sam to develop a creative problem-solving competition for school children, which started in 1978. Odyssey of the Mind was on its way! Since then, Dr. Micklus and his family’s lives have been focused on developing problems for students to solve creatively. His rewards are in the joy and pride of the millions of participants who rise to the challenge of solving those problems. You can learn more about the History of Odyssey of the Mind HERE.
