SoCAL Odyssey of the Mind

CREATIVITY.  TEAMWORK. INGENUITY. ARTISTRY.

For over 40 years, Odyssey of the Mind (OM) has empowered young people (K-12 + university) around the world to embrace their creativity, learn divergent-thinking skills, and contribute as part of a team to develop innovative solutions to open-ended problems.  The program has a long history in California, with over 750 teams competing.

The skills acquired in Odyssey of the Mind help young people succeed in life and make them attractive candidates for university admission and internship/career opportunities. For participants, OM is a hands-on, engaging, and social experience.  From robotics to acting, painting to engineering, coding to music, participants learn valuable new skills while having so much fun!

Best yet, OM is affordable: every young person has the opportunity to participate! Whether OM is run as a school activity, a community program, or a family/friend offering, OM is available to anyone and everyone who wants to join!

by Jim Mourey

"Never say you can't. Say you can but it will be difficult"

- Dr. Sam (Founder of OM)

SoCAL Odyssey of the Mind

Welcome to the 2022-2023 season of Odyssey of the Mind in SoCal!

Welcome to the SoCal Association for Odyssey of the Mind!!!

Regional tournaments are in full swing! Our state tournament will be held on April 1 at Moreno Valley High School. We can't wait to see your teams' amazing creativity!

When people ask me, “What is Odyssey of the Mind?” I tell them to imagine a combination of theater and problem solving with a creative twist. Through the writing of original scripts, the creation of costumes, props, scenery, and technical elements, teams of students work together to produce incredible solutions to creative problems while thinking “Beyond the Box!” Students with talents in many areas and who are unique and divergent thinkers find amazing opportunities to showcase their gifts in script writing, costume creation, music, dance, visual arts, props and scenery construction, engineering, problem solving, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and more!

California OM has a long history of outstanding creativity, with teams competing at the regional, state, and international levels for over 30 years! Our state has historically had 10 regions run by amazing regional directors who dedicate an incredible amount of time and energy to make sure our program runs smoothly for our 750 teams from Redding to San Diego.

Four years ago, California Odyssey of the Mind  split into two separate organizations due to growth.  California South (SoCal)  has four regions from Fresno to San Diego.  The regions in SoCal are LA Basin, South Central Valley, Inland Empire, and Coastal.

Enjoy looking around our website – we have information about OM, galleries with photos and videos from our teams, information about forming a team in your area, opportunities for volunteers, and a link to make a donation if you would like to support our program.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your regional director or email me at socaldirector@socalodyssey.org.

Dr. Lynn Larsen, SoCal Odyssey of the Mind Volunteer State Director

Events

  • Competitions are over for this year. Please come back in September for the 2022-2023 Competition information.

More Events...

News & Announcements

Colina Middle School making headlines

May 20, 2021
CVUSD / Friday, April 23, 2021 Two Colina Middle School Teams Advance to the Odyssey of the Mind World Championships Creativity, teamwork and problem solving to foster original and divergent thinking is at the center of the Odyssey of the Mind

Continue reading "SoCAL Odyssey of the Mind"

Assumption School headlines in the NEWS

May 20, 2021
Assumption School Heads to Odyssey of the Mind World Finals Article and Photos courtesy of ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY SCHOOL   MAY 12, 2021 Congratulations to Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s (ABVM) 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Odyssey of

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Wickman Elementary Odyssey Students in the NEWS

May 20, 2021
‘Odyssey of the Mind’ winners May 8, 2021 Wickman Elementary students Emma Chang, Sharon Mei, Reyansh Lokapur, Tanishka Raju, Iris Teng and Jack Wong get creative with medals they earned at the Odyssey of the Mind creative problem-solving competition, held

Continue reading "SoCAL Odyssey of the Mind"

Exciting NEWS for 2020-21 Season!

August 12, 2020
We are very excited to provide all of our SoCal OMers the opportunity to participate in Odyssey of the Mind for the 20-21 season while following all school district and state mandates for social distancing and safety. As you may have seen

Continue reading "SoCAL Odyssey of the Mind"

SoCal State Association Tournament

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Pay SoCal State Membership

$85

The state membership will register your group at the state level. These funds are used to run the state tournament, train officials, and maintain the program in Southern California.

 

Starting a Team

Step
01
General Interest

Generate interest in the Odyssey program.

International Membership

Any school, home school, or community group may purchase  membership(s) from Creative Competitions, Inc at www.odysseyofthemind.com

– Traditional International Membership – $290

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SoCal State Membership

Purchase a state membership from SoCal Odyssey Association for $85, which is required of each national membership to participate in the SoCAL Odyssey of the Mind program.

Regional Membership

Each team competing in a Regional Tournament pays a registration fee per team.

Step
04

Step
05
Create/Build/Practice/Train

Get started with your team. Get training for coaching and coordinating.

Find Your Region

Search for your region by zip code:

Find the region that your team will register to compete and where coaching training will be offered.

Help Support Students

SoCal Odyssey is a non-profit organizations that runs on volunteer efforts. Help support the efforts of this organization to give Southern California students the opportunity to let their imaginations grow and be creative.

Other ways to help support