A team of six students from the Pine-Richland School District will compete in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. The competition will be held at the University of Maryland in College Park, May 31 to June 3.

The students earned the right to compete in this event by placing second in their division, the Eccentrics, during the state competition held at Altoona Area High School on April 12.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition for students in kindergarten through high school. Teams are judged in several areas including: long-term solution, a performance meeting specific requirements, style of the long-term solution and the spontaneous problem given the day of the competition.

Eighth-grader John Matty and ninth-graders Michael Clouse, Isaac Egyed, Michael Matty and Tim Skillen and senior Sarah Clouse presented a humorous performance that centered around three eccentric characters, which included a team-created "problem" within the Earth system.

In the performance, Ivan Rash (Michael Matty), and Crazy Eddy (Michael Clouse) are the lead musicians in a heavy metal-polka band called the Purple Chinchilla Project. Their sagging ratings are lifted as they travel on the Magic School Bus to Topeka, Kan., and make a stop at a volcano that is about to erupt.

The eccentric characters are joined by an obsessed groupie Isaac Egyed and farmer John Matty, who sing an original song with the lyrics. The band forces the lava back down the volcano, saving the day. Farmer John is the catalyst for a new fad as his overalls are covered with popped popcorn creating a "snackfit."

At World Finals, Pine-Richland will be matched against other qualifiers from throughout North America, as well as Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.

Pine-Richland's Odyssey of the Mind is coached by parents Heidi Clouse and Carol Matty and sponsored through the PR Gifted Department.