Thought 34: Destination Imagination 2: The Imaginationing 🧠

It is time, for Destination Imagination 2022! (Applause). We have technically been doing DI since the beginning of the year, but we really started to work on the solution in February. I was put onto the technical challenge with my teammates Declan, Dana, Makenna, Alfie, Sylas and Ben T. For our challenge, we had to create a story about a daring escape involving 2 devices and 3 hazards. We also had to give 1 character a feat of skill, and provide 2 team choice elements.

We came up with the idea that our story would be about a Bank Robbery. We bounced around a few ideas for devices and hazards. We had some time to work on DI at Loon Lake. Unfortunately, we got almost nothing done while we were there. We had a really hard time coming up with ideas because we couldn’t figure out how 2 devices could get past all 3 hazards. We had a case of creative disfunction. Luckily, we managed to come up with lots of ideas and get back on track when we returned. Eventually, we came up with our plans for our devices and hazards. Our first device is an RC car with a plow and basket for transporting money. Our second device is a large pulley system attached to a makeshift skateboard. Our first hazard is a tunnel made of hula hoops and cardboard, the second hazard is uneven terrain made of cardboard and lego, and the last hazard is a tripwire. The part we were most worried about was driving the RC car over the uneven terrain. The RC car would often get stuck on the small pieces of lego and would need to be re-adjusted. 

Eventually came the day of the presentation. We loaded all of our stuff onto Sylas’s Dad’s trailer and drove our equipment to St. Georges School, which is a super fancy private school about 45 minutes away. We unloaded the trailer and carried all of our stuff into the gym. We managed to squeeze in some time to rehearse a few times. Eventually, we got called into the performance room. The appraisers introduced us, and we began our presentation. Overall, I think our performance was really good. We all remembered our lines and the audience thought our performance was really funny. Afterwards, the appraisers asked us a few questions, and directed us to the Instant Challenge room. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to talk about the Instant Challenge.

Overall, I have some mixed feelings about DI. The majority of the project, when we were building our solution and fixing problems as they came up, was very stressful, but after the performance, I felt really good. I am really proud of my team. We came up with a great solution, we worked together amazingly. There was almost no conflict, and everyone put in the most effort they could. Even if we don’t win, I still think we made an amazing solution.