This past weekend, two of my kids competed in Destination Imagination state finals in our state. My husband coached the team and it was such an amazing experience for all on the team. Destination Imagination is unlike other academic competitions. In fact, I consider it non-academic. You don’t need to be a spelling ace or a math whiz or a history buff. You don’t need to be gifted or talented. Since most people we talk to have never even heard of Destination Imagination (DI), I’d love to share.
DI is a problem solving competition. Teams are grouped by level – elementary, middle school and high school. There is also a non-competitive primary level for children younger than 3rd grade that offers all the wonderful growth experiences of DI but without the possible stress of a competitive atmosphere. Teams can have as few members as they want but can have no more than 7 total members. Teams meet weekly beginning in the fall and culminating with a regional competition in March. The top few teams in each age and problem category will go on to State competition the next month and the best teams will move on to Global competition in May.
So what kinds of problems do DI teams solve? Every fall, DI publishes five different problems. Each team chooses to focus on one of the five problems for the entire year. Problems change drastically every year but fall into each of five general categories:
- Technical/Mechanical Design – these teams have a problem that requires them to build a machine that works to achieve a stated goal. For instance, this year, the problem was to build a device that sends balls to a receiver and transports them back again. They also needed to write a skit to go along with their device that is also about something that goes away and comes back again.
- Structural/Architectural Design – these teams have a problem that requires them to build a small balsa wood structure that meets certain parameters and can support a large amount of weight. For instance, this year the problem was to build two structures that fit inside one another and supported weight. The teams also had to write and incorporate a skit that incorporated the meaning of the structure.
- Theatrical/Literary/Fine Arts – these teams have a problem that requires them to design a creative skit including props, scenery, costumes and more. This year the problem required the teams to research a nation other than their own and to write a skit about an unusual problem that occurred in this nation. The team also had to include the use of a hat that transforms the wearer and include a bizarre happening. Finally the teams had to perform the skit in one of 8 listed genres.
- Scientific Exploration – these teams have a problem that requires them to explore a scientific theory and present their understanding of the theory in a skit format. This year the teams were required to write a skit about a Place where it is possible to Bend one of the DI Rules of Motion and where the Characters can create their own kids rules and Design and present a Demonstration that creates the illusion of what might happen when you Bend one of the DI Rules of Motion.
- Improvisation. These teams have a problem that requires them to be able to plan and execute a skit on the fly. They will only have 30 minutes to work as a team to plan a skit that uses the elements chosen by the judges randomly and also solves a problem chosen by the judges and incorporates a symbol chosen by the judges. This year’s problem required the students to study up on different environments of their choosing and different animals of their choosing. At competition, one environment and one mismatched animal were chosen by the judges and the team had 30 minutes to plan out a 6 minute skit linking the environment and the animal as well as solving a random problem and incorporating a silly symbol.
As you can see, it seems like a lot of work and a lot of fun! One of the most unique aspects about DI is that children must do 100% of the work. Adults are not allowed to interject, opine, make, buy, suggest, help, assist, or provide for their teams in any way. They can’t even do their daughter’s hair on competition day! They must rely on their teammates if they need help or assistance on anything. To help a DI team will result in a large penalty on competition day and, believe me, the judges ask the children in depth questions about the development of their skits, scenery, costumes and ideas in order to attest to their authenticity. This is, by far, my favorite aspect of DI. Kids leave DI feeling like they accomplished something, even if they lose.
In addition to this central problem, each team also practices all year for a short instant challenge at competition. Instant challenges are small problems that teams are given a very short time to find a solution to. For instance, the team might be handed a small piece of clay and an envelope with the instructions to use only these two objects to make the tallest structure possible in only two minutes. After their two minutes are up, they may be given an additional 4 minutes to plan for an entertaining skit that incorporates their structure and tells a story about it. They must be able to work together as a team, problem solve, coordinate efforts and think on their feet. They are also a lot of fun. Adults usually boggle at the ability of children to problem solve. Problem solving doesn’t seem age-limited. Often young kids will problem solve just as well as high school kids and much better than us adults!
Hopefully you understand a little bit about DI from this brief explanation. DI has been around for 7 years as a separate group but has its roots in Odyssey of the Mind which is another, much older, problem solving competition. Odyssey of the Mind (OM) was founded in 1978 so it has a rich history. In 1999, a feud over profit sharing caused a split in the group and Destination Imagination was born out of that split. To this day, the two problem solving groups, although completely unaffiliated, are almost identical. We have participated in both and they are both fantastic organizations. In some regions of the country, OM is more prevalent and others DI is more prevalent. If you’d like to coach a team or get your child involved in this great problem solving competition, check out Destination Imagination’s website for the region nearest you or contact Odyssey of the Mind for more information on locations and regions near you..