We presented 2 Ranatra Fusca Awards and 1 OMer’s Award this year at the closing ceremonies. Ranatra Fusca Awards may be presented to individuals or teams who demonstrate exceptional creativity or risk-taking in solving the problem. OMer’s Awards may be presented to individuals or teams who particularly exemplify the spirit and philosophy of the Odyssey program, or demonstrate exceptional skill or talent, or exhibit outstanding sportsmanship or teamwork.
Ranatra Fusca Awards were presented to:
Renatra Fusca Award to Hunters Woods ES, Team A, Division 2 competing in Return to The Gift of Flight
This team showed exceptional creativity in their seamless blending of the artistic and the technical. Playing on the idea of aircraft runways, this team framed their entire performance in terms of a different kind of runway–the fashion runway. Each required flight plan mirrored a model parading on a fashion runway, and their psychedelic couture had the audience in stitches. For a refreshing fusion of art and engineering, we award this Renatra Fusca to Team A from Hunters Woods ES.
Renatra Fusca Award to Carter Sharer from Oakton High School, Division 3 competing in Nature Trail’R
This individual showed exceptional creativity and amazed both his teammates, the audience, and the judges–of two different problems–by designing and constructing a vehicle of gigantic proportions from scrap metal and an exercise bike. The driver sat on the back of this vehicular creature, using levers to actually “walk” the vehicle forward and popping wheelies to turn from one side to the other. The craftsmanship was superb, and the whole contraption operated flawlessly. This engineered praying mantis blew everyone away with its lifelike motion and brilliant design. This Renatra Fusca is awarded to Carter Sharer on the team from Oakton High School.
The OMer’s Award was presented to:
OMER Award to Capital Baptist Home School, Tm B, Division 3 competing in Discovered Treasures
For exceptional artistic talent in the construction of the modern treasure. This entirely team-created Energizer Bunny could go on sale as a professionally manufactured piñata. Beyond this, the scenery painting embedded images of the Titanic and Energizer Bunny is the cloud formations!