SHERBURNE – Members of Sherburne-Earlville’s Division III High School Odyssey of the Mind team will compete, on May 26, in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, to be held at Michigan State University.

Following first place finishes in both the regional and state competitions, held at the BOCES Harold Campus and Binghamton University respectively, the seven-member, New York State champion high school team will face 43 others from all over the globe next Wednesday.

S-E Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator Jonathan Sherry described the international educational program as a “catalyst that propels these children,” and added, “We need to challenge the students’ intellect while marrying it to their imagination.”

Odyssey of the Mind challenges teams globally with solving and performing a long term problem synopsis, and S-E team members said they chose the vehicle problem, Nature Trail’R, because it “seemed like a challenge.”

Heather Pfohl, an eight-time World Finals coach, said Nature Trail’R “seemed to have more opportunity for the students to be more creative.”

In the synopsis, the team must successfully navigate its human-powered vehicle through a series of encounters, while pulling a camper around a team-created nature trail. The circumstances surrounding the encounters include wildlife, an obstacle the vehicle must overcome, an apparent breakdown and subsequent repair and finally, an endpoint that beautifies the team-created environment.