ACTON — After school on Thursday, seven Acton Elementary School students were seated around a table in a classroom, brainstorming how to make their first-place state finals winning Odyssey of the Mind project even better.

Odyssey of the Mind teams can choose one of several problems to solve and the Acton team picked Animal House for the state finals, held April 7 in Biddeford.

Jenny Gore, one of the coaches and the mother of two of the team members, said the team had to build a tower that weighed 15 grams or less from balsa wood and glue that would hold as much weight as the team could place on it. Then, they had to decorate the tower to look like an animal, feed the animal, then remove the animal costume and place the weights on the tower. They had to plan and perform a skit around the weight-testing.

It took math, science, creativity and lots and lots of hours to get it done.

Their tower weighed 13 grams — and held 325 pounds before it cracked.

The team, called the Acton OM Superheroes, earned a place at the Odyssey of the Mind World finals, set for May 23 to 26 in Ames, Iowa. They earned perfect scores in all four categories at the state event and received the Dube Award, given to the team in a division with five or more teams that receives a perfect 350 score.

These youngsters, all between the ages of 9 and 11, made their families, school and their community proud — extremely proud. 

“We’re looking to fix some tiny mistakes,” said team member and fifth-grade student Sophie Charron, described by her coaches as the comedian of the group. 

“We’re trying to make it better,” said Nina Flores, a fourth-grade student known for her acting and problem solving skills.

Jillian Prescott is a fourth-grade student who originally wasn’t interested in a speaking role — but quickly adapted. Her quietness brings calm to the team and grounds them when things get wild, her coaches said.

Jaycie Gore, is a fifth-grade math whiz; her creativity helped the team with prop ideas.

Her sister, fourth-grade student Jaime Gore, “the engineer,” made a top secret device out of wood, wires, lights and a 9 volt battery.

Leighanne Long, in fifth grade, is known for her smile and coaches say this “sunshine girl,” has a work ethic that is beyond compare. Her hearing impairment inspired the team to devise an alternate form of communication in the skit.

Summer Bowtell, a fifth-grade student, hails from England. Coaches say her attention to detail really make the props pop.

So just what is Odyssey of the Mind? Simply put, it is an annual competition designed to spark imagination and creativity employing math, physics and engineering and a host of other skills like construction, science, performing arts, communications and technology.

The girls on Thursday said there were many components that led them to their win, but the secrets to their success will stay secret, at least until the world competition is over.

What was the most fun part of the problem?

“Working together,” said Flores.

Charron said she liked the costumes. And she said, “stepping out of the box and getting creative.”

Long was happy with how the cabin they created for the skit turned out. She also enjoyed other aspects of the exercise.

“I like how you get to work on stuff and make better friendships,” Long said.

Jaime Gore sais she had fun building the secret device — and making new friends.

“I could be as creative as I wanted to be,” said Bowtell.

Jillian Prescott had fun glueing the tower together.

“I enjoyed the creative side,” said Jaycie Gore.

The team began working on the project in September, meeting after school three to four hours a week — and that doesn’t include time spent at home working on costumes and props.

Now, the team and their coaches are working toward their goal of getting to the World finals, set for Iowa State University in Ames. They’ve set an upper goal of $15,000 for all the expenses involved but know the sooner they make airline reservations, the less the trip will cost. Organizers hope to be able to take three coaches and an another adult to chaperone the seven girls.

To that end, they’ve established a GoFund me account at: https://www.gofundme.com/omsuperheros. And they’ve begun hosting a series of fundraisers — including a “Donut Drive” on Saturday that earned them $526 toward their goal.

They’re making presentations to various Acton groups, hosting another Donut Drive— this time at the Acton transfer station on Saturday, April 21, and a pancake breakfast at the Town Hall on Sunday morning, April 22. To keep up with the events and how the team is doing, go to: www.actonom.org.

The Acton team isn’t alone in their bid for the Odyssey of the Mind World finals. Among the others is a team from Waterboro Elementary School that includes Calvin Akom, Bennett Gibson, Danny Cartwright, Colby Dyer, Marissa Nelson and Matthew Gowen .

As well, two Biddeford teams qualified for the World finals: the Biddeford Middle School team includes Sophia Schwartz, Kayla Arsenault, Kaiely McGrath, Hannah Grohman, Layla Keddy, and Leighton Guimond. The Biddeford High School team members include Jared Pierce, Brenda Eugley, Elizabeth Mills, Gabe Peaslee, McKenna Peaslee, and Sreylen Thor. 

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.