Three Mansfield ISD Destination ImagiNation teams advance to the creative problem-solving organization's state competition.
The Greater Fort Worth Regional Destination ImagiNation tournament was held at Midlothian HS on Saturday, February 23. More than 170 teams competed in six different challenges. Mansfield was represented by 24 teams in grades K- 9. Seven of those teams placed in the top six with three teams advancing to state because they placed first in their challenge.
Three MISD schools will send teams to the state competition in Round Rock, TX on April 4 & 5. Those campuses and their challenge types and titles are:
- Mary Jo Sheppard Elementary
(Challenge A, Obstacles of Course) Supercalifragilisticexpalidocious
- Roberta Tipps Elementary
(Challenge B, Hit or Myth) 1st Century Gladiators
- Mansfield Legacy High School
(Challenge A, Obstacles of Course) The Bam-Bams
Destination ImagiNation is a world wide creative problem-solving organization. You've heard of spelling bees, whiz quiz, robotics competitions and science fairs. In fact, there is probably a special event for every subject taught at school. Destination ImagiNation is a place where kids take what they know and what they are good at and learn to apply it to solve challenges, working together and cooperatively with a team and pushing the limits of imagination to best not their competition, but themselves.
Destination ImagiNation is a community-based, school-friendly program that builds participants' creativity, problem solving, and teamwork in enjoyable and meaningful ways.
Teams of two to seven members work together to apply creativity, critical thinking and their particular talents to solve a Team Challenge.
Teams are formed at each participating campus in the fall. Mansfield ISD had 11 schools participate in 2007-2008. Some schools had just one team others had as many as six teams.
K-2 have their own unique challenge. This year it was called Twisted History. Students had to create and perform an original play about history but it must have had an original twist/change. They also had to have at least one prop that used shapes.
The 3rd-12th grade level teams chose one of five challenges and solve it at their level (3-5, 6-8, 9-12 grades). The challenges are different each year but their primary focus remains the same. Challenge A is technical, Challenge B is a hybrid of theater arts and science, Challenge C is theater arts, Challenge D is improv and Challenge E is structure. Check out complete descriptions of this year's challenges on the DI Web site.
“The unique thing about DI is that the kids are totally responsible for their solution,” says Hope Hutchison, Art Enrichment teacher and DI sponsor at Mary Jo Sheppard Elementary. “It is a very empowering program for kids. If a challenge does not say that they can't specifically do something then the possibilities are limitless.”
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