KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. - A group of middle school students from the Outer Banks can problem-solve with the best in the world and, this month, they're getting the chance to prove it.
Sixth-grader Paula Bassi, seventh-grader Case Dawson, seventh-grader Harry Lipchak, eighth-grader Jack McGee, sixth-grader Ellie Payne, seventh-grader Wyatt Thomas and eighth-grader Andy Todd make up the "Mad Mice," a team from First Flight Middle School that competes in a competition called Odyssey of the Mind.
The Odyssey of the Mind requires teams to pick a "problem" and solve it using science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Then, they have to deliver a creative presentation.
After winning a county competition and then placing in a state competition, the Mad Mice have qualified for the World Finals at Michigan State University, which runs from May 24-27.
“I’m very excited. I’ve competed for Odyssey of the Mind two other times, but we’ve never made it this far," said Todd, who was joined by the rest of her teammates in the First Flight Middle School Library.
To get this far, the team chose to design a Rube Goldberg machine — a device that causes a chain reaction to solve a simple task. The Mad Mice are making a cup of tea and, in competition, they have to present the device and how it works. McGee says the presentation needs to be creative and involve all the team members.
“Wyatt and I are acting. Case is in the back making noise, Paula and Ellie are resetting the machines for us so we all just kind of are working in unison, we all know what to do and are making it work," he told News 3.
But this task for the Odyssey of the Mind competition isn't the only problem they're solving.
News 3 is told a coaching change forced them to start the season eight weeks behind other teams. Now, having qualified for the World Finals, they have to raise $25,000 to cover costs of the trip. It includes transportation of the kids, coaches and their machine, along with a hotel stay and food.
For that problem, they're getting help from friends, businesses and complete strangers.
“We’ve got 30 really amazing sponsors who jumped in. We’ve got other people who were like, 'I can’t donate, we can’t donate money to you, but what if we donated items to you for a raffle?' We did some raffles and then ended up making money after that. The community has really come together for us," said Jennie Thomas, Wyatt's mom and the team's Head Coach.
Dirty Dicks Crab House held two fundraisers that brought in thousands of dollars, Thomas says. There's also a GoFundMe that's raised more $6,000.
The Mad Mice are well on their way to solving yet another problem. They just need a little more help to get there.
