What is Destination Imagination® (DI)?
DI: The Organization
DI is the world’s largest non-profit, volunteer-driven organization devoted to creating educational programs in which student teams gain practical life skills through solving complex open-ended Challenges.
Mission
To inspire and equip youth to imagine and innovate through the creative process.
Vision
Ignite the power of ALL youth to be the creative and collaborative innovators of tomorrow.
DI: The Challenge Program
Under the supervision of a Team Manager (TM), teams of 2 to 7 students solve open-ended science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) and service learning Challenges and present their solutions to trained Appraisers at tournaments.
One new Early Learning Challenge and seven new competitive-level Challenges are released each season.
Students from kindergarten through college may participate in the Challenge Experience.
Learn more about the Challenge program: destinationimagination.org/challenge-program/
DI: The Tournament Season
The Challenges become available on September 1 to those who purchase a Team Number and have a background check on file for at least one TM.
Teams meet and create a solution to their chosen Challenge, then present the solution to trained Appraisers at tournaments.
Regional tournaments are open to all teams registered with DI. At a tournament, teams will compete against other teams in their Challenge Level (i.e., Elementary, Middle, etc.) and Challenge Category (i.e., Scientific, Fine Arts, etc.).
Teams that qualify at the regional level have the opportunity to compete at their Affiliate (state) tournament. The top-tiered teams from each state qualify to participate in Global Finals,DI's international tournament that takes place each May.
WIDI: The Tournament Season
In Wisconsin, Regional tournaments run from late February - mid-March. Although there are exceptions, teams usually participate in the Regional tournament that is closest to them. Qualifying teams from each Regional are eligible to compete at the Affiliate tournament (aka State).
The Affiliate tournament usually takes place in early to mid-April. Qualifying teams from the Wisconsin Affiliate tournament are then eligible to compete at the International tournament, Global Finals held at the end of May.
Take the next step on your DI journey!
The DI Challenge Program booklet provides an overview of the Challenge program including the primary focus of each Challenge category, the creative process, the tournament season, the program's impact, alumni stories and more.