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Three Dover Sherborn Destination Imagination teams took top honors at the Massachusetts state competition last month at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and are advancing to the Destination Imagination (DI) Global Finals Competition held in Knoxville, TN, on Memorial Day weekend. Global Finals is the culminating event of every Destination Imagination season. DI teams that advance past Regional and Affiliate (state/country) tournaments are invited to participate in Global Finals—the world’s largest celebration of student creativity. Each May, more than 1,400 of the top-scoring DI teams from 45 U.S. states and 14 countries gather in Knoxville, Tennessee to showcase their innovative Challenge solutions. More than 17,000 people attend the event each year.
These three teams worked tirelessly since the fall creating solutions to “Central Challenges,” which are published annually by the global Destination Imagination program. They are open-ended challenges for teams to choose from in focus areas that are Technical, Scientific, Fine Arts, Improvisational, Engineering, Service Learning, and Early Learning. Participants learn and experience the creative process from imagination to innovation, which fosters their curiosity, courage, and creativity. They learn higher order thinking and improve in creative and critical thinking while learning to work together as a team.
Teams advancing to Globals are:
The Blue Mustaches, a 5th grade team that earned top honors in the Elementary Improvisational Category. Team members include Rohan Bahadur, Angie Feng, Caroline Guillette, Kate Hammerness, Dylan Melenovsky, Katie Murray, and Niamh Sharpe.
The Elite Exploding Blueberries, 5th grade that earned third place in the Scientific Category. Team members include Sasha Ceol, Caitlin Driscoll, Caetlyn Embree, Patrick Lombard, and Alex Wu.
The Flaming Marshmallows, a 3rd grade team that earned third place in the Elementary Engineering Category. Team members include Luke Ceol, Patrick Driscoll, Kyle Embree, William Lombard, and Jonathan Shen.
Teams are led by adult Team Managers that help students stay on track but do not directly help the team develop its solution to the Central Challenge. The solutions that teams present on competition day are owned one hundred percent by the team members themselves. This creates a huge sense of accomplishment and empowers students to learn from missteps as well as from triumphs.
These three winning teams will embark on their journey to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where they will participate in the Destination Imagination Tournament, interactive exhibits, pin trading, skills workshops, international events and more.
