Destination Imagination is an international program designed to teach the creative process from imagination to innovation.
“DI is all about the experience; it’s the teamwork; it’s the collaboration; it’s the creative thinking; it’s about learning to think creatively and critically,” said Gerald Fussell, vice principal of an elementary school in British Columbia, Canada. “All of those things are where the real learning happens.
More than 1,400 teams from around the globe competed in the tournament.
To put this in perspective, each team has five to seven members with two team managers.
During opening and closing ceremonies, about 12,500 people, not including parents and family members, packed into the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
The teams traveled from as far away as China, South Korea and Turkey, Canada and several other countries as well as from 48 states.
For the first time, teams came from Qatar, a small Islamic country near Saudi Arabia.
Meeker had two teams compete in the structure challenge, “The Tension Builds.” One team was in the elementary level; the other competed at the middle school level. The third team presented their community service project in “Pitch and Play.”
All teams were up against 70 to 80 other teams, and all of the teams placed in the middle of the pack among their competitors.
They had an incredible experience learning, talking and sharing with people from other countries.
Global finals was an event none of them will forget and one that will help shape their future.
