So Audrey has been involved in Destination Imagination (DI) for two years now. She is on a team with six of her peers and they are "managed" by one of the other moms. The kids chose a challenge back in October and have been working for hours every week to solve the problem and present their solution in a creative way.
Here is a description of the challenge they chose, called "Spinning a Tale." The Blue Griffins (her team) was challenged to:
- Research Energy Cycles in the Natural and/or Physical World
- Develop and present an original three-act Circular Story that demonstrates knowledge about one Energy Cycle of the team’s choice
- Create a DIcycler that changes as the Story progresses and the acts change
- Create a Finale that uses the DIcycler to signal the end of the Presentation
Focus: Science, Research of Energy Cycles in the Natural and/or Physical World, Innovation and Design Process, Theater Arts, Playwriting, Technical Design, Construction, Teamwork
The second part of the competition is called the "Instant Challenge." The team goes in a room with several judges and one adult chaperone. They are given a brand new, secret challenge and 2-6 minutes to collaboratively create a solution and present it to the judges. They are given points for teamwork, creativity, use of materials and effectiveness of the solution.
From the DI website: "Destination Imagination is an extraordinary non-profit organization that provides educational programs for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork and problem solving. Every year, [they] reach 100,000 students across the U.S. and in more than 30 countries. Destination ImagiNation, [the] core program, is an educational program in which student teams solve open-ended Challenges and present their solutions at Tournaments. Teams are tested to think on their feet, work together and devise original solutions that satisfy the requirements of the Challenges. Participants gain more than just basic knowledge and skills—they learn to unleash their imaginations and take unique approaches to problem solving."
In addition, teams are not allowed to have any adult interference. They are responsible for every aspect and detail of the construction, creation and production of their solution and can be disqualified if there is any adult help. Needless to say, DI is quite a production.
In February, Audrey's team competed at the Texas Mid-Cities Regional Tournament in Irving. They got second place in the elementary division of "Spinning a Tale." This placement qualified them to compete at the State competition, which was held last weekend in Lubbock. Audrey and I traveled with our friends, Macie and Sandi to Texas Tech, where the kids met up and traded pins with kids from all over Texas. Pin trading is big at these tournaments!
Here is Audrey, trading pins with some random kid from some random part of Texas. At DI competitions, the crazier and more creative you are, the better. So our team made "ties" to hold the many pins we knew the kids would collect and hats for team unity (and so we could find them easily).
Here's an
article from the local paper about the competition. More than 4,000 people gathered at Texas Tech University for the events.
Audrey and most of her teammates outside the arena after the kick off. We hurried over to the hotel, where they rehearsed their performance two or three times before going to bed. We had an early start the next morning. We packed up the trailer full of props and headed over to the competition site.
Audrey and Macie getting their costumes ready. Audrey is a mythical griffin in their story. She gathers hail during the collection part of the water cycle.
The kids being prepped by one of the officials, just before their performance.
Just after their performance, the appraisers ask them questions about their presentation. Their answers are crucial to their point accumulation, and our kids are really good at answering in the right way!
The kids nailed their performance that morning, we were so proud of them! Later in the day, they completed their Instant Challenge, which went extremely well. The parent from our group who watched was absolutely flabbergasted at their ability to complete the challenge with only 9 seconds to spare!
Downtime before the awards ceremony: swimming at the hotel pool, enjoying the fact that they're done with the competition!
We headed back to the arena at Texas Tech for the ceremony, where we learned that our Blue Griffins placed third in the state, which qualifies them for competition at the Global Tournament in May! This shot of John Austin, one of Audrey's team mates, completely sums up how we all felt the moment they announced the results.
In Knoxville, Tennessee, they will compete against teams from all over the world, along with the two of the sixteen they competed against from Texas. DI is so big in Texas that a good portion of the teams hail from our state.
We couldn't believe it! Apparently, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we are planning our trip and helping the kids revamp and amp up their performance in the next weeks.
Go Blue Griffins!
Audrey and Macie with their medals and the team's trophy, which will be proudly displayed at their school after it makes the rounds at the kids' homes.
Thanks to my friend, Shannon for lots of these photos!
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