On March 22 dozens of Destination ImagiNation teams from all over Connecticut descended on Connecticut College in New London for the Destination ImagiNation State Finals.
Destination ImagiNation, Inc., is the world’s largest creativity and problem-solving organization, attracting students from around the world from kindergarten to college level to compete in a variety of creative-thinking competitions. Participants form teams of no more than seven students who work together for around 12 weeks to create a solution to a challenge which can have a theatrical, structural, improvisational, scientific, or technical focus.
Among the many teams at the state finals competition were two teams representing the fourth- and fifth-grade classes of Ledyard Center School (LCS). Both teams made excellent showings, placing second and third respectively. Fifth-grade team manager Robin Lipman said that the team had fun and worked hard leading up to the competition.
“Everything has to be of their creation,” Lipman explained. “They actually sign this document called the ‘Declaration of Independence’ that says no adults helped them. So my job as a manager is really that of a guide, to say, ‘What do you think you need next?’ or ‘Should you do some research, and where do you think you might find that book?’ Just help guide them, not lead them in any way.”
The fifth-grade team, Katie Lipman, Haley Hinton, Ellie Phetteplace, Emme Cronin, Mallory Thomas, Tia Kelly, and Mallory Oswald, took part in a challenge called “Hit or Myth,” in which they had to choose a myth from a different country and devise a way to either prove or disprove the myth.
According to Lipman, the experience was not only extremely educational, but also a lot of fun as the girls shared, and inspired, plenty of laughs.
“They picked Egypt and they had to solve a problem about a myth, so they came up with the myth of whether you can really get a mummy to pass into the underworld by reading from the Book of the Dead,” Lipman explained.
“They created a storyline where they had archaeologists and they tried to raise the mummy. Of course they were successful and there was a lot of humor to it. They also had to create scenery and props that were made of recyclable materials, so they built a sarcophagus out of cardboard and painted it—it was a lot of fun; everyone had a really great time.”
The fourth-grade team, which was led by team manager Kurt Jannke, was very excited about its second-place finish and later learned that the team’s performance earned its members a spot in the upcoming Global Finals, which will be held at the University of Tennessee from May 21 to 24, making the team one of few ever chosen from the area to represent Connecticut.
While Jannke was unavailable for comment before deadline, the Times will continue to follow the fourth-grade team’s progress during the Global Finals.