It is a rare event to have a single team win a Rantra Fusca award at a tournament,

yet alone two teams! It has been over 3 years since the Redwood Region awarded a Rantra Fusca.

Congratulations are due to the two recipient teams:

Discovered Treasures Div III
Ranatra Fusca Winner SANTA ROSA H S 15839 

Food Court Div II
Ranatra Fusca Winner JOHN B RIEBLI ELE SCH 27041 

Fusca Creativity Award

The Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award represents the essence of the Odyssey of the Mind. It is presented

to teams or individuals who exhibit exceptional creativity, either through some aspect of their problem

solution, or an extraordinary idea beyond the problem solution. A successful problem solution is not a

criterion for winning the award; rather, the award is a way to acknowledge and encourage creative

thinking and risk-taking.

Ranatra Fusca is the term for a classification of water insect. Although this may seem a remote

association to creative thinking, the name has a special meaning in Odyssey of the Mind.

The Odyssey of the Mind was born from a college class taught by its founder, Dr. Sam Micklus,

in which he assigned students to create a flotation device to transport them across a pond. One

student designed a water strider-like contraption. The device did not solve the problem because of

its inability to maintain proper balance; however, if given the time and opportunity to “go back to the

drawing board,” the student would have been able to correct this and cross the pond. Even though the

device did not work properly, the idea was exceptionally creative.