Lincoln Public Schools

LPS students advance in Destination ImagiNation

Originally published on: April 22, 2009

Just exactly what is Destination ImagiNation or DI?

It's a creative problem solving competition that teaches critical and creative thinking skills needed for success in the 21st century.  Each season, DI works with more than 250,000 children and young adults in all 50 states and more than 40 countries.

DI teaches the processes of creative problem solving and teamwork.  As a complement to traditional education, it offers students of all ages a real-world experience in creativity, teamwork and problem solving.
 
So how do you complete?

Students work in teams of up to seven and select a challenge they work on for several months in preparation for tournaments.  They compete at the regional, state, and international level.  During the 2008-2009 DI season, 19 teams from Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) competed.
 
The following LPS teams placed first or second at state, which was held Saturday, April 4 at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.  They will advance to Global Finals to be held May 20-23 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
 
Irving Middle School
Team: Cecilia Burda, Kelsea Bruner, Patrick Dugan,  Megan Hamann, Adam Keester and Mary Wickizer

Cavett Elementary School
Team: Trevor Boesiger, Dillon Holsteen, Nora Klein, Matthew Semin, Ben Stuart and Ben Wortman

Additionally, these LPS teams earned third place at state.
 
Pound Middle School
Team: Lillian Bornstein, Chris Jurich, Jonathan Lederer, Bailey Lytle, Foster Peterson and Jake Smith

Riley Elementary School
Team: Tristan Burda, Ashlyn Drews, Hayli Kent, Peyton Renard, Conrad Scott, Avery Steinman and Kayla VanNess

DI information: http://www.idodi.org and at the Nebraska site at http://www.nebraskadi.org