Morey MS team wins scholarship prize
The “DI-Dreamers” Destination ImagiNation team from Morey Middle School won the “CollegeInvest Destination College TEAM Award” at the State tournament held April 26th, 2008 in Jefferson County. The team of 6th graders had qualified to attend the statewide competition for Destination ImagiNation (DI) after placing 2nd in the regional tournament held in Denver earlier in April.
The CollegeInvest award gave each DI-Dreamer team member $250 to open a College Savings Account.
The Destination ImagiNation program challenges students kindergarten through college to solve one of five challenges that are published and released annually. The international creative problem-solving competition teaches teamwork, problem solving, and life skills. Each two-to-seven-student team presents their challenge solution at one of ten regional tournaments held in Colorado each year. Over 400 Colorado schools and youth organizations participate in Destination ImagiNation.
The DI-Dreamers took on the “Obstacles, of Course” challenge, requiring them to design and build a vehicle capable of traveling around a team-created obstacle course multiple times. They also had to incorporate an original, non-verbal story about overcoming obstacles. To up the challenge further, the solution had to be performed in under 8 minutes.
“The CollegeInvest award is based on teamwork, effort and a memorable performance.” said Ron Dutton, a tournament official. “The DI-Dreamers impressed the appraisers because it was clear that they had put in substantial effort to improve their presentation since we first saw them at the regional competition. The DI-Dreamers figured out and remedied problems that plagued their self-guiding vehicle. They also added a new twist to their presentation that happened just as time ran out, leaving us with a lasting and memorable finish.”
The Dreamer’s “memorable finish”? As the final buzzer sounded, their lego-constructed vehicle plowed into the Alien’s tower in their story, “A Tale of Two Cities… and an Alien” to save the day.
Top that, Charles Dickens.
CollegeInvest, a not-for-profit division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education was the Presenting Sponsor of the Colorado Destination ImagiNation tournament. CollegeInvest provides scholarships, planning advice, savings plans and low-cost loans to help students attend college.
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