The Designing the Future Team: Robin Vidimos, Hal Eden, Brook Hampton, Julia Hampton, Cate Stanek, Heather Schoech, Claudia Ricklefs, Jenny Ricklefs, Connie Ackerman, Lindsey Kennedy, Angela Maez, Susan Resneck, Mary Ann Goff, Becky Butz, Jim Butz, Debbie Piper, Debi Tipton, Matt Gardner, Kevin Cogswell, Mary Gelb, Hannah Frazier.

•    Design and build Equipment to move various Materials to and from towering heights
•    Start and end the Presentation with the Equipment contained in a Storage Box
•    Create and present a Sales Promotion highlighting the features of the Equipment
•    Complete all of the above with no AC electrical power

Challenge B: spinning a tale – scientific

•    Research Energy Cycles in the Natural and/or Physical World
•    Develop and present an original three-act Circular Story that demonstrates knowledge about one Energy Cycle of the team’s choice
•    Create a DIcycler that changes as the Story progresses and the acts change
•    Create a Finale that uses your DIcycler to signal the end of your Presentation

Challenge C: triple take road show – fine arts

•    Use three different Storytelling Methods to tell the same story to three team-chosen Pretend Audiences
•    Portray the Travel Methods used to move your Traveling Road Show between different Pretend Audiences
•    Integrate a team-created Technical Spectacle into one presentation to a Pretend Audience

Challenge D: mythology mission – improvisational

•    Create a five-minute Improvisational Skit about a Mission involving a Mythical Creature. This must be done in a five-minute Preparation Time prior to your Presentation at the Tournament.
•    Incorporate research about a Culture from a country
•    Incorporate three Souvenirs randomly selected from the list of items and combine them to create one Master Prop
•    Incorporate an Unexpected Problem that is discovered on stage

Challenge E: verses! foiled again – structural

•    Design and build a Structure made only of Aluminum Foil, Wood and Glue
•    Test how much weight the Structure will hold
•    Present a Story about a character that is Foiled
•    Integrate team-written Verse and published Verse into your Story

Rising Stars: big bug’s bad day – noncompetitive

Calling our youngest creative problem solvers! Your team will:

•    Learn about bugs and how they work with other living things
•    Create a play that tells about Big Bug’s bad day
•    Explore how Big Bug’s friends try to make the day better

Project OutReach: dynamic networks – service-learning

Make a difference in your community! This Challenge has two distinct portions:
•    First, your team will design and carry out a Project to address a real community need and integrate a social network
•    Second, at the Tournament, your team will showcase your Project with an Album and a Presentation, as well as complete an Instant Challenge

Colorado Extreme Creativity is planning to create a team to “Design the Future” of Colorado Extreme Creativity and Destination ImagiNation Colorado. This is an opportunity to examine where our organization has been, where it is now, and to set a course for the future to make our program even better. This will involve examining our mission and goals as well as our approach to presenting the DI program to participants throughout Colorado. We are looking for high-energy, open-minded, bold thinkers who are committed to our Destination ImagiNation Colorado program and are interested in being part of the team that will take on this Colorado DI Challenge. This team is not for the faint of heart but for those wanting to dig in and design an outstanding future for all Colorado DI participants.

Who are we looking for?
Team Managers, Team Members, Appraisers, Alumni, Parents, Challenge Masters, Regional Directors and Business People. We are looking for people from all geographic areas in Colorado. This needs to be a well rounded team with all areas of Destination ImagiNation Colorado represented.

What is the time commitment?
All participants must attend the State DI Retreat in Keystone on August 28th and 29th to begin work. They must also commit to monthly meetings thereafter. The team will work during this tournament season to create a vision that will be presented to the entire Destination ImagiNation Colorado community right after Global Finals in May, 2011. Participants from outside the Denver metro area can attend the monthly meeting virtually.

How do I sign up?
In order to make sure all areas of DI participation are well represented there will be an application process and team members will be selected from the pool of interested people. The applications will be emailed by August 1, 2010. The deadline for applying will be August 8, 2010. Team selection will be made by August 15, 2010. Our team will be limited to no more than 25 members.

If you have any other questions please feel free to
contact me.

Sincerely,

Debi Tipton – President, Colorado Extreme Creativity
Colorado Extreme Creativity

The DI-Bot teams took up most of our day. Not only were the solutions interesting, they were well done. The Escalante team performed to a full house.. Not only did the Colorado teams show up but teams from all over the world were there to show their support.

Tonight’s graduation was another Colorado highlight. Megan Morgenthaler from the Splee team was the DI class Valedictorian. She gave a beautiful speech (which will be posted here once we return to CO) about what DI means. The TM & O party was directly after followed by the Midnight Madness event for Kids high school and older.

The teams did a great job today. We’ve seen all but one of the Breaking DI News and DIrect DIposit teams perform. The group favorite so far is the Do or DI team from Aspen Academy. Not only are they about the cutest little kids around but the room laughed nonstop during the 7 minute planning time and the performance.

Tonight the teams have several choices of activities to choose from. The Improv Fiesta or The Costume Ball. All are a fun way to spend the evening. As always there will be plenty on pin trading! The teams have been making get well posters and signing cards to cheer Sam up and let him know we’re thinking about him. This is such a great, supportive group!

Fridays schedule will require some quick travels on our parts to fit everyone in. 19 teams perform but thankfully their locations are fairly close together. It will be tight!

By today the majority of the teams have checked into their housing, they’ve been to prop storage to make sure their things arrived safely, maybe practiced a time or two. They’ve checked out the campus, tried to figure out the bus routes and located the Starbucks. Today is a day to relax, prepare and meet. At 3:00 we kicked off the start of Global Finals with a Pep Rally at the Worlds Fair Park. The local high school marching band escorted everyone into the park signaling the start of what will be an exciting four days. There were games, music and plenty for team members to do while the Team Managers were attending their Team Managers meeting.

At 7:00 the Opening Ceremonies began with the Parade of Countries and States. Several teams from each participating country or state was announced into the arena with much fan fair. Colorado’s cheering section was impressive! The team members who marched in are seated on the floor of the arena to view the rest of the ceremony. There were introductions, text voting for the best Team Manager recruiting video produced by a team. The Tom Carmelo Award was presented by his granddaughter and Florence HS team member Ally. The band Mase played a number dedicated to DI and then the laser light show and fireworks began. It was an impressive sight!

On a more serious note, one of the team members from the Escalante MS was seriously injured in a fall tonight. He will be all right but will require a week to ten days in the hospital. We ask that you keep Sam and his family in your thoughts. DIHQ has rescheduled the teams performance for Friday afternoon. The kids are determined to be successful to honor Sam. We’ll all be rooting for them!

Click here to see all the photos: Kokoro Photography

Provided by: St. Mary’s Academy

Creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills combined with originality, confidence, and team work as six teams from St. Mary’s Academy Lower and Middle Schools won in the South Metro region and will advance to the state finals of Destination ImagiNation® on April 28 at the University of Denver.

Fifteen teams from St. Mary’s Academy participated in Destination ImagiNation®, with 10 in competitive levels and five in the kindergarten-grade 2 non-competitive category.

A team of six seventh graders won first place in the Round About Courage category and merited a Renaissance Award for excellence in engineering, design, and performance. This team constructed a rollercoaster and a ticket booth that morphed into a snack shack. Every element, including their songs, lyrics, acting, props and costumes, fit perfectly together and wowed the judges.

A team of third graders finished first in the Round About Courage category and merited a DaVinci Award for adventurous risk-taking.

A team of third graders finished first in the Car-DI-ology, with their structure holding the winning weight of 345 pounds.

A team of third graders finished second in the Switching Traditions category.

A team of second and third graders finished second in the CSI: DI category. Another team of 4th and 5th graders in the CSI: DI category finished third.

Barbara Peister, third grade teacher, coordinates the Destination ImagiNation® program at St. Mary’s Academy and parents serve as team managers.

Destination Imagination® is the world’s largest creative problem-solving program for students in elementary school through college. The program is organized around team challenge with includes aspects of engineering, structure-building, theater, world cultures, and improvisation. Each team writes and performs an eight-minute skit that presents their solution to the problem presented.

Funky flamingos are taking over lawns in this bucolic ranching town on the eastern plains.

In the pink crush are pirate, clown, baseball, hippie and jail birds. One looks strangely like Alice Cooper. The clan of 35 costumed birds is a fundraiser for a Calhan middle-school team heading to Tennessee for the world finals of Destination ImagiNation, a creativity and problem-solving competition.

The Calhan team needs about $5,000 more for the trip, and has three weeks to get it. Forget car washes and candy bars. This is, after all, a think-out-of-the box mental sport. The flocking of flamingos to fund-raise isn’t unique to Calhan. Other teams in the Pikes Peak region and nationwide also use the leggy birds to pay for the top Destination ImagiNation tourney. Students flock a yard for a donation, moving the birds after dark to surprise the target. Some people pay to flock themselves.

The flamboyant flamingos took to the streets Saturday on a float in Calhan’s Loyalty Day parade put on by the VFW to promote patriotism.

One bird wore camouflage, though not exactly the U.S. Army variety. “The costumes are made from duct tape,” said Zayna Pieper, 12. She and her three teammates made the outfits to give color to the flamingos. And so the birds wouldn’t have to prance around naked.

The team qualified in a recent Denver competition for the May 26-29 world finals.

Zayna was on the Calhan elementary team that competed in the world meet last year. The extracurricular activity opens a big world to the small-town students. “Some had never been on an airplane,” said Zayna’s mom, Debbie. “Some had never been out of Colorado.” For Zayna, it does more than bend her mind. “You have a challenge and then you have this great feeling of overcoming the challenge,” she said. “It gives you that sense of pride.”

The Calhan flamingos are available until May 24.

Call 719-347-2516 to flock it to your friends.