Destination Imagination Teams Forming Now!

September 15, 2017
The Skittleworms appeared on Bedford TV after they traveled from Page School to winning third place in Destination Imagination’s national competition in 2017

Submitted by Bedford MADI

Does your Grade 2 – 12 student want to spend this winter working with friends to create something AWESOME??  Maybe a robot that can find its way through a maze, or a fantastical theme park ride.  How about an original musical, a super-strong, uncrushable tower, or an improv skit?   Bedford Destination Imagination is forming new teams for the upcoming season!

Destination Imagination (DI) is a project-based extracurricular activity that teaches kids the creative process, from concept to design to execution, with an emphasis on teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving. DI fosters students’ curiosity through open-ended academic challenges in the fields of science, engineering, technology, fine arts, and service learning. In working to solve DI Challenges, teams learn 21st-century skills (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, citizenship, and courage) by stepping outside of their comfort zones to pursue ideas and build on their unique strengths and interests.

Each year the challenges change but their basic premise remains the same: kids research, construct, and present entirely original work in a team-selected domain (such as technology, structural engineering, science, or fine arts). Students are matched up into teams of up to 7 students in or close to their grade level in the fall, and work together all winter on solving the problems of their selected challenge, including writing scripts, building scenery, and designing props and costumes on a very small budget, entirely without input or assistance from people outside of their team. In real-world terms, parents and coaches can’t measure, cut or nail together wood for the team, sew costumes, or rebuild or improve something that falls apart.  Everything about the project from concept to design to execution is entirely student-driven.

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Over the course of the season, kids learn about time management, resource management, understanding the design process and how to teach themselves things they never knew they could learn how to do.

Watch a great Destination Imagination video

Click this link to view the DI video

How does DI work?

Students in grades 2 through 12 work in teams from 2 to 7 members to solve long-term Challenges and practice Instant Challenges. The most important thing to remember is that this program is student-driven! There is absolutely no outside help allowed.  Team Members generate the ideas, execute the ideas, and plan a performance showcasing their ideas.  If the kids think it’s a great idea (and it’s safe), no adult will tell them NO!

What exactly do the kids do?

In the beginning of the season, teams select a challenge from an array of choices such as Fine Arts, Engineering, Science, or Technology (except Rising Star teams (Grade 2), who only have one challenge option).   These challenges require children stretch their creativity as they research and design a solution that must be presented in a short skit (up to 8 minutes).

Over the course of the season, children begin by brainstorming ideas for a possible solution and doing research into technical and artistic aspects of their project. Later, they invent a storyline for their skit and plan the props, sets, costumes, technical devices, etc., that they need to build. Then they build, paint, design, write, sew, and CREATE.   DI requires that the children solve their challenges without INTERFERENCE from adults, including parents!

Solutions are presented at a Regional Tournament in March to a panel of appraisers and an audience of family, friends and other DI-ers. Everything presented at a tournament is created only by the kids themselves.

What exactly do kids learn?

Innovation, cooperation, collaboration, risk taking, communication, leadership, listening skills, perseverance, self-confidence, and much more – plus the joy of creating something from nothing, all on their own!

How much time is needed for DI?

The DI season begins as early as September, but many (most) teams do not start until October or November,  and some don’t begin until January. The average Team meets once a week for 1-2 hours, and as the tournament approaches the team may decide to add additional practice time.  Students often have creative hands-on projects to work on in between meetings. The time requirement may vary by age, Challenge chosen, and the competitive ambitions of the team.  Each team (of no more than seven) chooses a meeting schedule that works for them and for their families.

How Are Teams Formed?

  • Friends can join DI together and form a new team.
  • We can help students find a team, or help form a team if a student doesn’t know anyone else who has signed up.
  • Current DI Students often reform their team each year with the same students. Sometimes everyone comes back, sometimes not.
  • Current teams with less than seven students can choose to bring in new team members (and often do).
  • Teams on occasion split into two teams, or join to form one team or have a member move from one team to another.
  • Students need to convince a couple of their parents to co-manage a team because we are a 100% volunteer organization and there are no teams if there are no team managers!

My student is interested!  How can I learn more?

Bedford MADI will be holding information sessions in early October, and you can find us in our booth at Bedford Day and we will be happy to tell you more!  If you think your child is interested in finding or forming a team, you could help us by filling out a brief survey here:, and recruiting friends!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScEZpKcBTw7epAb4ZWnqOo1_-ba0sU5G4uJsZ-0HVjmm6A8fg/viewform

To find out more about this year’s challenges, please visit  https://www.destinationimagination.org/challenge-program/2017-18-challenge-previews/ or visit Bedford MADI at Bedford Day, in booth 3.

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