2026 Ranatra Fusca
The Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award is given to a team or individual for demonstrating outstanding creativity. This award embodies all that the Odyssey of the Mind program represents.
Individuals and teams who receive this award at World Finals are presented with gold medals, and their coaches receive a plaque for their school. The names of these individuals and teams are engraved on the Ranatra Fusca trophy. This tradition has been honored every year since 1980.
Problem 1: Off the Rails Division I
Think-Tube 7543
Seoul, Korea
How do you get a water wheel to power a vehicle, on dry land, and without any water? Well, this team worked it out with an innovative and risky propulsion system. Using an electric-powered vertical conveyor belt, it delivered a steady stream of heavy metal spheres into a team-created wooden “water wheel”. Continuously recycling the balls, the vehicle magically glided across the floor to perform its tasks. This Rube Goldberg-style infinite propulsion system was a wonder to behold. Simple, unique, and creative, this team-designed vehicle was one that none of the judges had ever seen before.
Problem 1: Off the Rails Division II
Women in IP Network, Team A 6397
Arlington, VA
This team transformed an ordinary cauldron into a fully engineered message-revealing chemical printer. What looked like a simple prop onstage secretly combined chemistry, motion, and clever mechanics. During their performance, the cauldron came to life: paper rolled through a hidden activating liquid, was dusted by an automated shaking mechanism, and then brushed clean as the final message dramatically appeared. The entire reveal was designed, tested, and built by the team, creating a moment that felt like real magic powered by real ingenuity. Their creativity turned a single prop into a show-stopping invention that surprised everyone watching.
Problem 1: Off the Rails Division III
Geneseo Middle/High School Tm A
4449 Geneseo, NY
The team’s solution demonstrated exceptional creativity by transforming a simple baking soda reaction into a component of their performance. Rather than using the chemical reaction as a visual effect, the team engineered a system where the reaction powered a music box mechanism that played recognizable bars from Hotel California. This innovative application combined chemistry and mechanical engineering in an unexpected way, exemplifying the spirit of the Ranatra Fusca Award.
Problem 1: Off the Rails Division III
Osrodek Tworczej Psychoedukacji
DAMB – Gdansk 7632
Sopot, Poland
This team blew us away with a fusion of science and stagecraft with their Arm and Hammer baking soda. Instead of a classic volcano, they engineered a complex, wearable machine. On a performer’s back, this device triggered a meticulous chemical chain reaction. By using a team-made thermometer, the team harnessed the temperature shift s and gas release of water, vinegar, and baking soda not just to create foam, but to open a network of intricate tubes winding across the character’s arms and torso, sending a blue liquid surging through them like pulsing veins. It was a masterclass in theatrical chemistry, and an absolute visual triumph
from the stage.
Problem 5: Taller Tales of John Jivery Division II
Pocono Mountain East Junior High 6302
Swiftwater, PA
This earth shattering performance blew our minds and brought the seasons to life. This team spun a tale (and the earth) to tell how the seasons came to be. The judges felt as if they were transformed into peasants sitting in the royal court of spring, summer winter and fall. When axis crashed into earth chaos broke loose. Each season was presented by a royal member of the court through original songs, themes and weather events to represent the differences between them and the forms of chaos they bring. After weather effects shown through a working snow globe and a love story with the moon. Axis finally saved the world by making room for all the seasons to co-exist. This team transported the whole audience to a fairy tale climate. Broadway extended all the way to Ames this weekend.