Victory at See (Tennessee, that is)

We are back (and almost caught up) from our trip to Knoxville, Tennessee where my 16-year old son Jake competed in the Global Finals for Destnation Imagination. Here is the web site.

Destination Imagination is a team-oriented, creative, problem-solving competition. The coolest part is that there can never be any adult intervention in helping the kids come up with their solutions. Every single aspect of a solution and its presentation is 100% kid generated.

This turns out to be a wonderful blessing on many levels. For one, the kids learn lessons well as their learning is totally need-based and self-directed. Second, their final solutions are so much more original and innovative than anything an adult could ever suggest. Third, it is a major liberation for us parents. It used to be difficult to bite my tongue watching the intensely sloppy, mistake-filled creative process unfold but now I ignore the whole thing. Kids love DI and only involve parents when they require a chauffeur, a snack, or a credit card.   

In the problem my son’s team tackled, a bridge had to be built. It could not weigh more than 150 grams (about 5 ounces). Its success was determined by a formula that multiplied its span by how much weight it supported before it collapsed.

Here is a picture of the balsa wood bridge my son constructed.

Click on photo to enlarge.

It spanned 34 inches and ended up supporting 460 pounds (ten 45-pounders plus the crusher board which weighs 10 pounds). The eleventh 45-pound weight collapsed it. That’s right – five ounces of balsa wood supported a quarter of a ton over a 34 inch span. Talk about less accomplishing more!

Click on photo to enlarge.

His team ended up winning second place in the High School division. Here is the team photo with their trophy (embraced by my son).

Over 80,000 kids start out competing in Destination Imagination each year. That gets whittled down to 8000 kids and about 850 teams for the Global Finals. Only state or country champions get to compete at the Global Finals.

DI teaches (and awards) self-reliance, teamwork, and innovative thinking. It is a marvel witnessing these fabulously creative kids in action and one is left feeling very good about the future.

Comments

[John]

ConGRATZ to your son!

The whole process of competition, leading up the world finals with a great finish. How gratifying for a parent to see their child creating their own success story!

A chip off the old block, eh?

[sylvia]

Very pleased that your son's team did so well. I am going with a group of 6th graders this year. any advice? Right now we are buzy {BUSY} doing fundraisers.

[Fred Gratzon]

I've got tons of advice. I know where all the best restaurants and swimming pools are. This is our 7th year as DI parents and we've been to the Global Finals for 3 years. My guess is we will go again this year. My son is on two teams this year (the technical problem and the structure problem) and both teams have a great chance to go to Global. Send me an e-mail with your questions -- fredg@lisco.com -- and I'll do my best to tell you what I know.