New Heights youth place well at Destination Imagination Regional Tournament

At a recent Destination Imagination (DI) Regional Tournament in Kingston, which was held on March 11, three teams from New Heights competed against dozens of schools from across the region.

In the Fine Arts Challenge: Vanished, the New Heights – Fine Arts high school team placed second and advanced to the state tournament. One New Heights middle school team placed third in the Technical Challenge: Show & Tech, while middle school youth on the New Heights – Science team placed fifth in the Scientific Challenge: Top Secret.

Destination Imagination provides project-based learning opportunities that blend STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education with the arts and social entrepreneurship. Its academic challenges are designed to teach kids how to think and then present their solutions at regional and state tournaments. This year’s state tournament will take place on Saturday, April 1 at Bedford High School.

“I am very proud of how our students performed this year,” said New Heights’ Wayne Moulton, who manages the team. “It was a great experience and we look forward to going to the state tournament."

According to parents, DI presents their kids with unique and wide ranging learning opportunities.

“Technology is changing so rapidly that it doesn't make sense to focus on any particular technology,” said Durham resident Heidi Lockwood, whose daughter Kaya has participated in numerous STEM programs at New Heights. “It does make sense to teach students critical and creative thinking, teamwork, and, above all else, to reflect on the ethical issues related to technology.”

Fellow parent Melissa Maguire agrees and said her daughter, Grace, has had a wonderful experience.

“Grace has made a lot of true friends at New Heights,” she said. “When she was moved up to the high school team on DI, it stretched her abilities.”

Each year, DI competitions begin with a regional tournament where team solutions are assessed by a panel of trained appraisers, ranging from educators to artists to engineers. Each team solution is scored on a variety of elements, including originality, workmanship, presentation and teamwork. Teams with the highest scores advance to the Affiliate (state or country) tournaments. The top-tiered teams from the Affiliate tournaments advance to Global Finals.

For more information about DI, visit www.destinationimagination.org. To learn more about New Heights, visit www.newheightsonline.org.