Gifted Atlanta

About a year ago, when I was looking into starting an Odyssey of the Mind team at my child’s school, I tried to learn more by reading the organization’s web site.

I was left scratching my head after reading their description of what OotM is:

“Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.”

Huh? I mean, now that I’ve been coaching a team for a year, I understand that statement perfectly. But to the uninitiated, the above boiler plate does little to elucidate what exactly OotM is.

Luckily, when I called someone from the Georgia OotM organization, they suggested that the best way to understand it is to watch it in action. I attended a local competition, and in a just a couple of hours, I not only understood it but was awestruck by it.

Here were teams of kids who had worked on their own with minimal adult guidance to build machines, write plays, design costumes and create scenery. It was a true celebration of children’s creative ability.

I could go on and on about Odyssey of the Mind, but if you’ve thought about getting your child involved, or starting a team at your school, I have to give you the same advice I was given: Go see it.

The Lilburn regional tournament is being held tomorrow, Saturday, March 19, at Parkview High School. It starts at 9:00 a.m. and continues well into the afternoon. Check the competition schedule — out of the more than 100 teams participating, maybe there’s a school from your area you’d like to cheer on.

(Sorry for giving such late notice on this event, but I must admit, with coaching a team, I’m a little under water at the moment!)

What better way to encourage and inspire your young musician than by exposing them to the great work of other young musicians?

The Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony will perform a free concert on Monday, March 14, at 8 p.m. at Emory University. The performance will be held in the Emerson Concert Hall of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.

The AYWS is an honor ensemble for local high-school students talented in wind or percussion.

Then, on Sunday, March 20 at 4 p.m., Emory will present “Atlanta’s Young Artists,” an annual showcase of pre-college musicians from the local area. The event will take place at the Michael C. Carlos Museum on the Emory campus. Tickets are $4 per person; however, members of the museum will be admitted at no charge.

The Fernbank Museum of Natural History on Saturday will open a special exhibit on mythical creatures. The exhibit, which will be displayed until August, looks at how cultures throughout the ages used imaginary beings like dragons, mermaids and unicorns to explain the world around them and share ideas and beliefs.

While you’re there, you can also see the IMAX film Animalopolis. At just a half-hour run time, this humorous nature film can be the perfect way to let younger children experience IMAX. The film runs through March 17, 2011. (Note: Tickets for IMAX films are sold separately from museum admission.)

If your child enjoys nature and would get a kick out of being one of the scientists in a HUGE scientific study, plan to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, which begins this Friday.

Every year, the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology sponsor the bird count, conducted by bird watchers of all ages across the country. The bird watch helps scientists understand how many birds are in different locations and how bird populations are changing. It’s a project your child can do at home, at school, at a local park or any other location. Last year, birdwatchers submitted more than 97,000 checklists of birds they observed.

To participate, you’ll spend a minimum of 15 minutes observing one location, on one or more days between Feb. 18 and Feb. 21, 2011. All you have to do is tally how many birds of different varieties you see. Then you submit your count through the web site (link above). You can do just 15 minutes on one day and stop, or you can do lots more observations at different times of day and even different locations.

If your gifted child really enjoys birding, they can continue to make observations and submit them for scientific use all year long through eBird, another program of Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The University of Georgia has opened registration for the next Duke TIP Scholar Weekend, to be held April 16-17, 2011, on the UGA campus in Athens.

TIP Scholar Weekends are open to 8th-11th graders who participated in a Duke TIP Talent Search or who have been identified as gifted by their local school’s criteria. Students have the chance to study a topic not offered in a typical school curriculum. They have the option to spend the night on the college campus.

Classes to be offered in April include:

• 3-D computer animation
• Physics in aircraft and spacecraft design
• Public speaking and leadership training
• Rube Goldberg challenge

The deadline to receive an early bird discount is March 4; the regular deadline is March 25. Bear in mind that popular classes are likely to fill up before the deadline.

During February, the Fernbank Planetarium gives visitors a look at the stars as they appear from an African vantage point.

The children’s program, “Stories of Africa,” compares the night skies over Atlanta and Africa. It runs Feb. 5-26, with shows on Saturdays at 1:30.

“African Skies,” designed for audiences ages 10 and up, examines how Africans used the stars to measure distance, predict weather and create calendars. The show runs from Feb. 5 to March 4, with shows on Thursday and Friday evenings at 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday afternoons at 3 p.m.

Admission is $4 for adults; $3 for students and seniors.

The Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville has three upcoming events worth noting:

1. This Thursday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m., a professional archaeologist will discuss the Leake Site, a major archaeological discovery in the Cartersville area. (This is billed as an adult program, but I see no reason why it wouldn’t be appropriate for a teen with a keen interest in archaeology.)
2. Junior Astronomy Workshop on Friday, Feb. 11, from 6:30 – 8 p.m.,  for ages 5 and up. (UPDATE: As of Feb. 8, this workshop has no spaces left.)
3. Family Science Night, Friday, Feb. 25, from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., will offer hands-on activities for kids, planetarium shows and a tour of the observatory.

If you find these appealing, don’t let the Cartersville location discourage you too much. Tellus is just one minute off of I-75, so while it’s not right up the road, it’s easy to get to.

Georgia State University’s Saturday School for Scholars and Leaders has released its class list for the “spring B” session. Choices include classes in math, science, writing and drama, dance and interpersonal skills.

Classes will meet on five Saturdays beginning March 12. Sessions are held in the mornings and afternoons, although the morning has two advantages: 1) more choices of classes, and 2) free parent seminars, which are held while the children are in class.

Registration is open now through Feb. 21.