Lothian Elementary Destination Imagination

An Anne Arundel County Destination Imagination team of 5th graders from Lothian Elementary School is going global!! Our team won FIRST PLACE in the Maryland State D.I. competition to qualify for Global Finals!! We need your help to get to Kansas City Missouri to show the world the amazing skills we have in South Anne Arundel County.

 

 

The Lothian Elementary School Daring Divas Destination Imagination team competed in the Maryland State Destination Imagination (D.I.) competition at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on April 2, 2022.

 

The team earned the overall high score out of the top elementary level “Daring Escape” teams in Maryland, securing them a spot at Global Finals - a celebration of ingenuity and creativity held in Kansas City, Missouri between May 21st and May 24th. They were also one of only two teams in the whole state of Maryland to be awarded the Renaissance Award, which they received for excellent use of engineering techniques (the hydraulic, magnet, and pulley system) in their device and how well everything was integrated together in their performance! The team will have the opportunity to take classes and do hands-on problem solving with companies like NASA and Ford, among many others. They will also get to watch other top teams’ solutions in addition to presenting their own solution in front of a global audience.

 

 

 

 

What is Destination Imagination?

 

Destination Imagination is a creative problem-solving competition. Teams of up to seven kids work all school year to solve a central challenge to present at regional and state competitions. During the year, they also do a lot of practice solving instant challenges, which are challenges they have to solve in a short amount of time (usually about 7 minutes). Our team is made up of five fifth-grade students from Lothian Elementary School.

 

Destination Imagination is a very STEM-focused, inquiry-based program, and it is a wonderful opportunity for our youth in South County to showcase their creativity and engineering skills. Solving hands-on problems as a team is an experience they aren't always able to get in the regular classroom.

 

 

The central challenge the team chose this year was to create 2 “daring devices” that would overcome 3 team-created hazards. One device could be powered using electricity and the other device needed to be propelled with non-electric technical methods. The kids learned to use many tools and learned to overcome their own obstacles as they experimented with different solutions to this challenge. In this completely student-led program, team managers and other adults could teach certain skills to the team, but the ideas, designs, and construction were entirely student-led.

 

 

The team built both devices on their own, using air power to move one device and magnetic power, pulleys, and hydraulics to move the other device. They presented their solution creatively, portraying their devices as glitches traveling through a cell phone to help a virus overtake the phone. The team designed and wrote a storyline that they presented as a play, complete with their own backdrops, props, and costumes. Their backdrop wowed the appraisers, with paintings on both sides of a set of blinds, creating interchangeable scenery.

 

The cost for the team to participate in this competition will be close to $10,000. If you would like to donate funds to help offset the cost for this amazing team of Anne Arundel County youth, we would be very grateful!

 

 

 

 

Our team is creating a team shirt for the kids and supporters to wear at Global Finals. We will happily include the name of any donor or business that gives a minimum donation of $500. Please contact Peggy James, team manager, with any questions.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read about our team and for considering a donation to this great cause! Any amount will help these kids get to Missouri!