Students who compete in Odyssey of the Mind spend much of the school year developing imaginative solutions to one of five long-term problems that challenge team members to pool their creative problem-solving skills and talents. Team solutions may involve inventions and a variety of creative mediums, including original music, graphic art, poetry and drama. These solutions are then presented at different levels of competition and are judged for creativity and originality. Teams also compete by solving a spontaneous problem, a short-term challenge presented on the day of the competition that requires imagination and resourcefulness under pressure.

In addition to first-place teams, winners of the new Ranatra Fusca Award, given for exceptional creativity, will be invited to the 2000 World Finals.

Registration and concessions will be in the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building, and competitions will be held in the college’s Alumni Gymnasium, the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, Schaeffer Theatre, Pettigrew and Hathorn halls and the Dana Chemistry building. More than 1,000 participants and spectators are expected to attend closing ceremonies in Alumni Gymnasium.