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Hands-On Problems

Please Note: These are not official Odyssey of the Mind Spontaneous problems but are supplied here as training tools for improving teams' spontaneous skills. Official practice problems can be found if you purchase the books of spontaneous problems and sample problems can also be found on the Odyssey of Mind website.

Bowling us over!

Your challenge is to create a device or devices that will allow you to launch balls toward the bowling pins.

Chip Flip

Your challenge is to flip the chips in the target area so that the numbered sides are face up on the colored circles.

Builders and Architects

Your challenge is to recreate a structure that you haven't seen, using only non-verbal instructions.

This is a 2-part challenge.

Chain Links

Your challenge is, given the materials, create the longest possible chain possible.

Shoe Shuffle

Your challenge is to pair up all of the shoes, without speaking.

Stack-em!

Your challenge is to use the objects in the bins to make stacks of objects on the table.

High Ball

Your problem is to support any of these balls as high above the floor as you can, using only the materials provided.

How far Can you go?

Your challenge is to build a device that will be used to get an empty soda can to travel the greatest distance possible.

Rube plays Tee-Ball

Your challenge is to create Rube Goldberg machine that can knock a ball off a Tee.

A Rube Goldberg machine is a complex device with multiple parts that can complete a simple task. After the device is set up, it is triggered so that eventually after a number of steps, the it will complete the final task.

Bucket Choice

Your challenge is to move as many  balls as you can into a bucket.

The Long and Tall of it

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Fantastic Vehicle

Create a vehicle that will be blown as far as possible across the floor, propelled only an electric fan.

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