To trade a pin or not to trade a pin is the question members of Thomas County Central High School’s Odyssey of the Mind chapter asked themselves during World Finals this summer.
“States and countries have their own pins,” explained Kimsey Hodge, TCCHS OM sponsor. “These are traded annually at OM World Finals competition.”
These pins, like pins that can be worn on clothing, usually have a theme specific to the state they represent and also depict that year’s OM problems. Some pins are traded "pin for pin" while others are worth more and require more pins to trade for them.
Georgia is known for its dragon pins, Hodge said. An example of pin sets from other states is Kansas, which always spell out the state’s name and features a The Wizard of Oz theme.
World Finals were held at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Hodge calls pin trading a “predominate activity” during the competition.
“Besides competing and the opening and closing ceremonies, pin trading is the number one activity during the five days of World Finals,” she said. “It affords children of all ages from all over the country and around the world to meet and exchange cultures. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’ve watched our students trade pins with students from Poland, Korea, Germany and Singapore.”
Hodge said often students will share background stories and discuss which OM problem they are competing in prior to the exchange of pins.
“Pin trading is really the symbolic exchange of these young people sharing their cultural experiences with each other in a once in a lifetime opportunity,” she said. “Often, after these encounters, our team will make a point of cheering on their new comrades in competition, and vice versa.”
The pins are generally kept on towels but are more than just fun pieces, collectors said.
Hodge said the kids return home “with stories and insight into the lives of those living outside the borders of Georgia and the United States.”
“I like that it gives you an opportunity to get to know new people,” TCCHS OM participant Terrance Smith, 17, agreed. “I feel like in OM we’re all coming together to compete and show off what we worked so hard on. It’s good to get to know the people who put the same amount of effort into their work.”
Smith, a senior, added his goal is “to collect a pin from each country that participates” in OM.