Regional DI Meets Push Kids to Get Creative

Sixteen teams from Merrimack's schools will compete this weekend in an event that pushes kids to collaborate and use creative problem solving and communications skills to perform challenges.

The regional Destination ImagiNation meets kick off in New Hampshire this weekend in Hudson and Sutton. A second Saturday of challenges, on March 17 in Kingston, will host another two Merrimack teams.

More than 2,300 New Hampshire students total will participate in the upcoming  regional competitions.

" 'DI' is the world’s largest creative problem solving organization for student teams from kindergarten through college," according to a press release from the organization. "The New Hampshire teams will join more than 100,000 students in more than 30 countries competing in judged challenges that incorporate core school subjects with a focus that is technical, scientific, arts-based, improvisational, structural or social-learning. What makes DI unique is that all solutions, including all ideas and construction must be done solely by the team members, and not adults or friends."

The teams, comprised of students from schools as well as home school groups, begin working in the fall each year to prepare the teams to showcase their best creativity, teamwork and ability to innovate.

Merrimack's teams will compete against teams from a couple dozen local schools. They include six teams from the , three from , two apiece from and , one from and two from . Next week, two teams from JMUES will participate in a regional final in Kingston.

This Saturday's competition will be at Alvirne High School in Hudson starting with a parade of teams at 8 a.m. Competition starts at 9 a.m. A second competition Saturday will host another group of student teams at  Kearsarge Regional High School in North Sutton.

Teams that advance in their Challenge and grade level will compete at Destination ImagiNation State Finals in Hampton at the end of the month. The top-scoring teams will then represent New Hampshire against teams from around the world at Global Finals.

Destination ImagiNation is in its 31st year in New Hampshire.

Its goals are to:

• Foster creative and critical thinking.
• Learn and apply creative problem solving methods and tools.
• Develop teamwork, collaboration, and leadership skills.
• Nurture research and inquiry skills, involving both creative exploration and attention to detail.
• Enhance and apply written and verbal communication and presentation skills (both impromptu and sustained).
• Promote the recognition, use, and development of many and varied strengths and talents.
• Encourage competence in, enthusiasm for, and commitment to real-life problem solving.

There are more than 1.3 million Destination ImagiNation alumni around the world including more than 120,000 New Hampshire alumni.

Learn more about NHICC and New Hampshire Destination ImagiNation at NH-DI.org, or the international Destination ImagiNation at www.IDODI.org.