Students from Clermont Elementary won the Virginia title last week in Odyssey of the Mind, a critical thinking and creativity competition and will soon head to Iowa for the world championship.

“The smiles on their faces when the judge announced they were the State Champs proved that all of their hard work was worthwhile,” the team's coach, Amy Savage, said in a press release from Clermont. 

In Odyssey of the Mind, students work in teams to solve various challenges and problems with creativity.

The Odyssey of the Mind World Finals are in Ames, Iowa, from May 23-26, where they will face off against teams from 35 states and 25 countries. To fund the trip, the team is raising money and accepting sponsors at Clermontom.com.