Students from around the world are competing for the Odyssey of the Mind world championship in Ames, despite the recent SARS outbreak.

“It provides a creative outlet for the students and teaches them creative problem solving,” said Alan Strohmaier, state director of Odyssey of the Mind.

Participants of the four-day event are from most of the fifty states and 20 countries around the world.

More countries were slated to attend, but were unable to because of SARS.

“We have about 50 teams [including Hong Kong and China] who backed out of this event because of SARS, terrorism and the economy,” Strohmaier said. “Their governments may have also played a roll in their decision not to attend as well.”

SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, is a respiratory illness that starts out with a fever and goes into a cough, according to the Centers for Disease Control Web site, www.cdc.gov.

SARS begins with a high fever greater than 100.4 degrees. Other symptoms of the disease include headache, a high feeling of discomfort and body aches. Within two to seven days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.

Only one team from Asia, the Singapore team, is competing this weekend. This will be the team’s second year competing in the world finals, said Ruth Lim, the team’s coach.

Odyssey of the Mind teaches students creative problem solving methods while having fun in the process, according to the Odyssey of the Mind Web site, www.odysseyofthemind.com.

Students solve problems from a variety of areas. One competition includes building mechanical vehicles, according to the Odyssey of the Mind Web site. With the problem this year, “A Scene From Above,” the students build a machine that transports items to earth, as if they were looking down at the planet from space. Teams are judged on creativity and creative thinking.

“We are excited to be here,” Lim said. “The best thing about getting to come is meeting new people, being in the United States and pin trading,” she said.

This is Lim’s first time to the United States and third year of coaching for Singapore.

“When I started, I was just helping the team out and wasn’t very interested in being a coach, but now that I’ve started, I think it’s fun,” she said.

The competition is just as important to the teams from the United States.

“The most exciting thing about this competition for the team members is that for five out of seven of them it’s their second time being here,” said Jon Verner, a parent of the Reynold Middle School team from Asheville, N.C. “It’s nice to see the kids accomplish their goal of being here.”

Competition isn’t the only excitement for the students. Outside the Scheman building, many students participate in pin trading.

“Pin trading started out before my time and has become a tradition now,” Strohmaier said. “Now it’s a big thing. Each state and country has their own pin, and the kids’ goal is to get as many as possible from this competition,” he said. “The pins from the different countries seem to be the most valuable.”

The competition will go through Saturday evening. Competition is held at various locations on campus.