Most residence rooms are double occupancy rooms; however, there are limited single-occupancy rooms. The majority of housing areas have group bathrooms (shared by a floor) located nearby the sleeping rooms. Few have suite-style sleeping rooms with two rooms sharing a bathroom (up to four people per suite). Beds are single (twin) beds, most of which will be lofted over room furniture. Air-conditioned rooms are not guaranteed. Please plan accordingly when making your housing plans.

Your team will be pre-assigned rooms in residence housing on campus. In order to accommodate all teams, it will be necessary to assign one person to every available bed. This means that if a team has 9 persons assigned to rooms with a total of 10 beds, there may be a person from another team of the same gender and similar age assigned to the remaining space. Males and females may be assigned within the same residence hall room if requested. Males and females may be assigned within the same suite or apartment, but not within the same sleeping room unless requested. Please inform team members of this possibility.

Each person will be provided with a pillow, pillowcase, sheets, blanket, 2 towels,  washcloth & soap. Daily towel exchanges will be available at a centralized location. Laundry facilities will be available within the residence area; cost of laundry and detergent is the person’s responsibility

Medical Required Housing Request
If you have a team member with a medically required special housing assignment need, list the member’s full name, contact telephone number, email address and description of requirement when you submit your Lodging/Meals Reservation. Please indicate medical required housing and dining accommodations that may affect placement needs.

24-Hour Assistance
A 24-Hour Conference Desk will be located in each residence area. Guests who have questions about housing or dining should feel free to call or stop by their Conference Desk. The 24-Hour Desks can store medications requiring refrigeration (refrigerators are not supplied in all residence rooms). Bring medications in small, well-labeled containers.

Lost Keys
Be sure to keep track of your keys! At check in, you will receive an envelope with your team’s assigned keys. Use this as a handy resource to gather all keys at the end of the event to turn in upon check out. Keys must be returned at check-out; charges will be assessed for unreturned keys (up to $175). If lost keys are found, turn them in to one of the 24-hour residence hall desks or to the Odyssey of the Mind information desk.

Responsible for your own belongs
Iowa State University and Creative Competitions, Inc. shall assume no responsibility for theft, destruction or loss of money, valuables, or other personal property belonging to Odyssey of the Mind participants, for any reason. Please inform your team members to keep their room doors locked at all times, and do not leave valuables in public areas.

Some teams choose to stay in a hotel and pay the registration fee instead of staying on campus. For the convenience of teams selecting this option, a list of nearby hotels is available.

Ames is a great driving destination and within a day’s drive for many of your teams.
Located just 25 miles north of Des Moines, Ames sits on the northwest corner of US
HWY 30 and I-35; it’s very easy to get to!

Getting here by air transportation

Des Moines International Airport (DSM), which is located about 45-minutes to the south of Ames, has more than 100 daily arrivals and departures.
https://www.flydsm.com/

DSM partner airlines offer over 20 nonstop routes.

American Airlines | Allegiant | Delta | Frontier | Southwest | United

Other nearby airports
The Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) is located in Cedar Rapids, IA, and is a 1 ½ hour
drive to Ames. – flycid.com/

The Dubuque Regional Airport is located in Dubuque, IA, and is a 3 hour drive to
Ames – flydbq.com/

Other airports that are within a 4-hour drive include Omaha (Eppley Airfield,
OMA), Kansas City International Airport (MCI), Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport (MSP).

Please note, travelers are responsible for finding their own
transportation to and from these airports.

Airport Shuttles
Discover Ames is offering round trip shuttle service for Odyssey of the Mind teams from the Des Moines International Airport (DSM). DSM is a 45-minute drive from Ames. The arrival shuttle will run between the airport and Odyssey of the Mind Registration site at Scheman Building.

Shuttles will be scheduled to accommodate Odyssey group arrivals and are not available at regular intervals or to other destinations. Delayed flights will be accommodated as quickly as possible.

Arrival service is available Tuesday, May 26 and Wednesday May 27. Limited
arrival shuttles on Thursday, May 28.

Departure service is available Sunday, May 31. No departure shuttles are available
on Monday, June 1.

All shuttles from any other airport are the responsibility of the traveler.

Important Information About Booking an Airport Shuttle:
1. Cost per person for a round-trip shuttle (arrival and departure) is $75;
one-way shuttle is $50.
2. Shuttle fees can be paid with a credit card at time of registration. VISA,
MasterCard, and Discover are accepted.
3. Deadline to request an airport shuttle is: May 8, 2026
4. You will need the following in order to register for a shuttle:

a. Team Number
b. Number of people and names of those you’re reserving the shuttle for.
If your team is traveling on several different flights; you will need to complete the reservations multiple times based on travel schedule.
c. Arrival Airline, Arrival Flight Number, Arrival Date, Arrival Time (arrival time of the flight NOT the time you want a shuttle)
d. Departure Airline, Departure Flight, Departure Date, Departure Time
(time of the flight NOT the time you want a shuttle)
e. On-site Contact – Name, email, cell phone of the adult(s) that will be on-site with the group on travel days. The individuals listed in this section will be receiving the communication from Discover Ames on their shuttles.

For more information or to make your shuttle reservation, visit:
http://discoverames.com/odyssey/transportation/
Cost per person for a round trip shuttle: $75.00
Airport Shuttle Deadline is May 8, 2026 at 11:59 PM CST

Departure information will be determined during the week of Odyssey and posted
https://discoverames.com/odyssey/transportation/ by Saturday, May 30 at 10:00
a.m. The on-site contact provided during registration will be emailed this link as
well. It will also be included in the registration confirmation.

Questions regarding Airport Shuttles may be directed to Discover Ames:
Katie Kramer, Director of Visitor Experience
katiek@discoverames.com | 515-817-6312

Additional Transportation Options
For teams that land in Chicago O’Hare (ORD) or the Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport (MSP), charter service can be arranged through the two
companies listed below.
Executive Express: https://www.executiveexpress.biz/coverage-areas/
Windstar Lines: https://quotes.gowindstar.com/Quotations