Recently, Destination ImagiNation teams gathered at Discovery Middle School to show off what they had been working on for months at a time, performing their skits and solving challenges, but most importantly, they had fun along the way.

Destination ImagiNation is a program that encourages creative problem solving, teamwork, and dedication through theatrical and structural challenges. Each team has two required performances within competition, including a prepared skit and a “instant” challenge.

Skits are created by the team itself without any help from an outside source, including set building, script writing, and the performance itself. Skits are written and prepared months before competition due to their complex requirements, allowing the team time to brainstorm and practice. The team’s skit will then be performed on the day of competition and be scored by the end of it, based on its level of creativity and its ability to meet the challenge requirements.

The other challenge teams are required to perform are Instant Challenges. Instant Challenges are timed trials teams must complete within a room containing only the team and it’s judges. The requirements of the challenge prior to the team entering the room are unknown. Teams are then read the challenge’s requirements, which can be both structural and/or theatrical in nature, and are given specific time parameters to accomplish the challenge’s goals. After the team has exited the room, any knowledge of the challenge is forbidden to leave it. This is due to the same challenge being given to other teams within their category. 

The service learning team’s competition is different in that students must do something productive for the community prior to the competition. Julia Pimmel shared her team’s service learning project. “We did a clothing drive because there’s not a lot of people in high school that can afford fancy clothes for job interviews, and many adults have that kind of thing just laying around.”

At the closing ceremony, which was held in the Discovery Middle School gym last Saturday, the team’s combined score determined whether they move up within the competition.

A total of three Bob Jones teams managed to excel towards global competition, which will be held in Kansas City, MO this May.  

Improv team “Rock Bottom Carpets”: Caeden Anderson, Jake Munson, Rishish Narahari, Cooper Sawyer, Trevor Peck, and Grant Pethel

Scientific team “Procrastination Station”:  Emilee Lamps, Jennifer  Shaver, Lael Anderson, Avery Adams, and Maddie Shrode

Service Learning team “Can We Say This?”:  Emma Bordelon, Aliyah Coe, Brooke Heath, Jacqueline Jory, Rebecca Meyer, and Julia Pimmel 

This year will mark the 18th year of Bob Jones advancing to DI Global Finals, and Robin Dauma, Bob Jones AP Lang teacher and DI sponser, is ecstatic by the turnout, stated, “I’m always proud of the teams’ opportunity to go to Global Finals. This year is DI’s 20th anniversary, and I’m so exited to celebrate this milestone with my students.”

It is with great pleasure we wish the advancing teams good luck as they compete against the rest of the world this May in Kansas City, MO.