Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Destination ImagiNation is the flagship program of Destination Imagination, Inc. Destination ImagiNation is a program that teaches participants important life skills and expands their imaginations through team based, youth centered creative problem solving.
Destination Imagination, Inc. is a non-profit organization that sponsors Destination Imagination and other creative problem solving programs such as DI eXtrme, Rising Stars, Project Outreach and the Construction challenge. Visit the DI website for more information.
To learn more about DI visit the Destination Imagination website. On the menu to the left on the home page, check out the following links.
- Who We Are - the About tab will take you to a description of the program, the challenges and how it all adds up.
- Our Program - This menu option lists the various DI programs. Destination ImagiNation is the flagship program. Other options include Rising Stars (DI for kids in grades K-2). Texas DI supports Destination ImagiNation, Rising Stars, Project Outreach, and TXtreme.
- Challenges - Three tabs give you information about the objectives of the two components of DI and summaries of the 2011-2012 Team Challenges.
DI is a program that you have to experience to really understand. It may help for you to watch some team solution presentations. Visit the Team Solution Videos page of the Destination Imagination Resource WIKI and watch some performances.
- When you get to the Video page click on a year ("2009" for instance).
- A page will open up titled "Videos of Team's Solutions to 2009 Challenges".
- It is easier to understand a team's solution presentation if you have an idea of the requirements of the challenges. At the top of the page you will see a link titled "Synopses of 2009 Challanges". Click on this link and you can read the synopses of the challenges. Read the synopses before selecting one of the challenges to watch. You might find it informative to watch several videos of the same challenge to see the variety of ways teams solve the challenges.
There is no one right answer to this questions. It can depend on how much time you are willing to commit. It can depend on how much your team gets "into" solving the challenge.
Most teams start working in October or November. The Regional Tournament is typically held the last Saturday of February or the first Saturday of March. Many teams meet for 1 to 2 hours per week when they start. As they move toward a solution, some teams increase their meeting frequency and length of meetings. As it gets closer to the tournament, many teams starting meeting more frequently when they realize how much they have to do to finish their solution.
At a minimum you should plan on
Attending Team Training Sessions. Check out the Team Manager Training link in the menu on the left. We have scheduled 3 training sessions in October and November. You only need to attend one of them. You do have the option of attending a beginner training and then attending an advanced training. The second training would be free.
Meeting with your team for 1 1/2 to 2 hours per week at the start. This can be on a weeknight, after school or on the weekend. It depends on what works best for your schedule. Rising Star teams may not meet as long. It depends on the attention span of your team!
Spending (at least at the start) as much time in prep work as the team is meeting (If the team meets for 2 hours then you may spend from 1 to 2 hours getting ready for the meeting). This would include studying the materials, preparing Instant Challenges for the team to practice, gathering supplies that the team has requested.
Attending at least one workshop with the team. Our region typically offers a few workshops for teams covering such things as structure building, technical elements or instant challenge. These typically last about 1/2 day on a Saturday.
On increasing your meeting freqency and length as it gets closer to tournament. Teams start wanting to meet more often in order to complete their solution.
If your team advances to the state tournament, the team will continue to meet to improve their solution.
The costs for participating in Destination Imagination in the Capital Region varies widely by school district, by team and by the challenge the team has chosen. Here are the costs that you might anticipate. The numbers in this chart were accurate August, 2011.
| Expense Item | Cost | Additional Comments |
|---|---|---|
Manager Training | $5 | Manager training is strongly recommended. You need to only attend one of the trainings in the fall. There will be no charge for attending additional manager trainings. |
Membership Fee (Purchased at www.ShopDI.org) | $55 - $135 per team | The cost varies depending on the type of membership that is being purchased. Individual memberships cost $135. A school can purchase a 5 pak for $390 or $78 per team. A school district can purchase a bulk buy for even less cost per team. Also Rising Star memberships are $55. Check with your campus coordinator before purchasing a membership. The campus coordinator usually arranges for this and it might be paid for by the school district, school or PTA. |
Tournament Registration Fee | $50 per team | This may be paid for by your school district, school or PTA. If you register late, you will have to pay an additional $50. Also, each team has to supply 2 volunteers who will be appraisers at the tournament; there is a judge penalty fee of $100 per appraiser if you do not supply the volunteers. |
Team Solution Supplies | $50 - $300 | This varies depending on the challenge. Most challenges have a cost limit. A reasonable rule of thumb is that a team might spend twice the cost limit for the challenge. However, a technical team may spend more than this as they construct and discard different possible solutions. It is also possible that a team may take a minimalist approach and solve the challenge with very few purchased materials. (Years ago there was a team that placed well at finals who basically had no costumes and whose only props were a ladder and a plastic flower). Note that the cost limit only applies to materials that are actually presented as part of the team’s solution. A team may build something that costs $30. IF they do not use it for their solution it does not count against the cost limit but you have still spent the $30. Other items are exempt items for the cost limit (such as batteries). You spend the money but it doesn't count against the cost limit of the challenge. The Improv Challenge (Challenge D) has no cost limit but rather has a specific list of materials that the team may bring with them to the tournament. The Rising Star challenge does not have a cost limit but in Texas we recommend that teams adhere to a $50 cost limit for their solution. Most of my past teams spent around $20 - $25 per team member. I encouraged them to find items around their houses and transform those objects instead of buying new items. The team splits this cost. |
| Instant Challenge Supplies | $50ish | This can vary greatly by team. Most ICs require items that are commonly around the house: paper, paperclips, paper plates, duct tape, straws, etc. You can also ask parents to donate specific supplies you need for Instant Challenge. |
Travel | ? | Other than your vehicle expenses for taking the team around, there are generally no travel expenses associated with the regional tournament. |
Tournament Day Costs | ? | These costs are generally the responsibility of individual families. This would include cost for meals at the tournament or costs for purchases from the tournament DIme store. |
| Optional Costs: | ||
| Team Workshops | $5 - $8 per team member | Capital Region offers Instant Challenge Workshops and a skills workshop called Super Saturday. These are optional but highly recommended. |
| Regional T-Shirts | $15, if ordered; $20 on the day of competition | Per shirt. These are optional. If the team advances to the state competition, they will be required to have one to wear at the state award ceremony. |
| Regional Pins | $2 - $3 | Per Pin. |
| Meeting Snacks | ? | Serving snacks at a meeting is optional. Many team managers of younger teams find that having a snack helps break up a meeting. You can ask a parent to bring a snack to each meeting to spread the cost between the team members. |
| Expenses if your team advances from the Regional Tournament to the State Tournament. | ||
| State Registration Fee | $100 | Check with your school to see if they will pay this fee. |
| Travel Expenses | ? | Given the size of Texas, there is a good possibility that the team will have to travel overnight to participate in the state tournament. This generally involves transportation and two nights at a hotel. Your school district may pick up part of this expense. |
| Tournament Day Expenses | ? | These costs are generally the responsibility of individual families. This would include cost for meals at the tournament or costs for purchases from the tournament DIme store. Teams are given the opportunity at the tournament to pose for and purchase team photos. |
| Optional Expenses: | ||
| State T-shirts | $15 | Per shirt. The team will be required to have state shirts if they advance to the Global Tournament. |
| State Pins | $3 - $5 | Per pin. Note that there are several different state pins that team members can purchase. |
While most teams are sponsored by school districts, anyone can form a team. There are always home school based teams that participate in Destination Imagination each year. You need a Team Manager, team members and purchase a membership license at www.shopdi.org. (See other links for more information on forming a team and purchasing a membership.) The biggest challenge that home school based and private school based teams face is the logistics of meetings. Team members on public school based teams are typically in the same geographical area. Many times, team members of home school or private school based teams are scattered over a wider geographical area. This some times makes scheduling meetings more difficult.
The best way to make sure that your child participates on a Destination Imagination team is to agree to be a Team Manager. We typically ALWAYS have more students wanting to participate than we have parents volunteering to be Team Managers.
If you are in one of the participating Capital Region public school districts (see Contacts page) you should contact the District coordinator to see if the school your child attends is currently participating in Destination Imagination. The coordinator can put you in touch with someone at the school to assist you. If the school is not currently participating, the coordinator can help you get started in forming a team.
If your child attends a private school and they are listed on the Contacts page as participating in DI then you should contact the coordinator about joining a team at the school. If the school is not currently participating then you should contact the Regional Director about what it would take to start the program at your private school.
If you home school, contact the Regional Director for options. You can always start a Home School based team. SOME school districts MAY allow home schooled children that reside in the district to join a district team.
Before you purchase a team membership make sure you talk to your district or school coordinator. Some school districts purchase memberships for their teams. In other cases, the school PTA may purchase the membership. Make sure you talk to someone before you spend money that you don't need to.
If you have determined that you must purchase your own membership, then you need to go to Shop DI. Once you are on the site you will need to Sign In (the link is typically in the upper right region of the website). If this is your first visit then you will need to follow the instructions to create yourself an account. Once you have created your account you will be returned to the front page. In the upper right portion of the website you will see an icon labeld "Start A Team". This will take you to the catalog to purchase a membership. Rising Star teams purchase a Rising Star membership. Most individuals purchasing a new membership will purchase a "Domestic 1-team Pack". If you are part of a private school or home school group purchasing mutiple memberships, you may need to purchase a "Domestic 5-team Pack." The 5 team pack can offer a substantial discount for individual teams. You CAN use a membership from a 5 team pack for a Rising Stars team if the numbers work out that it is less expensive to purchase a 5 pack and not purchase a separate membership for a Rising Star team. If you are unsure, talk to your coordinator or the Regional Director before purchasing a membership.
The best method to purchase a membership is via credit card because you immediately receive information so that you can download the materials. Payment by check or other methods can delay receipt of the download information.
Note that the memership(s) that you purchase are a license to use the materials. Purchasing a membership does not register you to participate in the local Regional Destination Imagination Tournament. You must follow the tournament registration procedures outlined in this website in order to be registered to participate in the Regional Tournament.
Registration instruction can be found under "Regional Tournament 2012".