Odyssey of the Mind Opens in Ames Wednesday

Ames residents will find emotional vehicles, new explanations for the world's mysteries and more at through May 26 for the 33^rd Annual Odyssey of the Mind world finals educational competition.

The most creative problem solvers from around the world began arriving in Ames Tuesday to register for the international event that opens Wednesday.

More than 800 teams from across the globe will display their problem solving skills and creativity in the task of its choice. More than 5,000 students from kindergarten to college have participated in team problem solving throughout the year and will see how their solutions and creations stack up against the competition.

Problems teams have chosen to solve include building an Ooh-Motional vehicle that can traverse a course and show a display of changing human emotion, coming up with new explanations behind earth's mysteries such as an erupting volcano in Weird Science and building a light weight balsa structure that can hold 1,000 pounds in You Make the Call.

Opening ceremonies typically draw a crowd of 13,000 to 16,000. This season's will be held 7:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum. Events and competitions are open to the public. A full schedule is on the Odyssey of the Mind's website.

Ames public schools are not participating in the competition but several teams are from Iowa.