Congratulations to all of our teams for sharing their creativity, teamwork and problem-solving efforts with us, and for entertaining each audience. We hope each team will hold a celebration soon to recognize students for their accomplishments, their strides in learning, and the experiences they gained. Sixteen first-place teams and one “Wild Card” team (Seductive Reasoning from Fairfield, Team 112-42484) have earned the right to advance to Global Finals being held May 23-26, 2012 at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. You can follow all of the competitive and recreational activities at the Global Finals Web site.
Special recognition
Special recognition goes to several teams and individuals for their accomplishments.
Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award
The TAG Team from Evans Middle School in Ottumwa, Team 112-16416, earned a Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award in Team Challenge E, Hold It! “The team forgot their structure at home,” said the Appraisers. “They did not sulk or complain. They disassembled and reworked their delivery device to obtain materials. They developed a new design and built a new and working structure. The team maintained a very positive ‘get it done’ attitude throughout the episode. They maintained a great attitude.” Congratulations, The TAG Team! Such perseverance is truly the Spirit of DI! The Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism and Sportsmanship.
Renaissance Award
Also earning a special award was Hypothetically we have a Giant Mushroom from Maharishi School of Fairfield, Team 112-24943, which earned the Renaissance Award in Team Challenge B, The Solar Stage. “This team,” said the Appraisers,” did an excellent job researching and integrating unique scientific and theatrical components. They demonstrated advanced knowledge through communicating with experts and integrating solar energy within an ‘unearthly realm.’ They applied advanced lighting techniques to demonstrate their scientific components as well as their theme. Lighting created both mood and motion effectively. They built an infinity mirror completely from scratch that reflected light as if it had been professionally made and was very effective as a representative of a wormhole. Their dialog was well executed and explained the science behind their story very well. The theatrical lights were very thoughtful. Each theme had a different color. The whole story was smooth and integrated with the element choices. They demonstrated an extraordinary amount of effort and preparation with their solution and outstanding performance, engineering and design.” Congratulations to this team for an outstanding job all-around! The Renaissance Award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.
Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship
Congratulations are in order for Ethan Marshall Lloyd of Maple Valley Anthon Oto, a seven-year Destination ImagiNation® participant who was awarded the Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship in the amount of $500, to be used at a post-secondary institution of his choice. “Destination ImagiNation has been a great learning experience for me,” wrote Ethan in his scholarship application. “This is an experience that is unlike any other I have experienced in school. DI is a place for me to think out of the box and try to solve problems in different ways . . . . I have learned that no idea is a bad idea and many great things may spring out of a totally off the wall or silly concept. The trick is to channel and focus these types of ideas and use them as a jumping off point and develop them into workable concepts.”
Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship
Ethan Marshall Lloyd was also awarded the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship, which honors the memory of two former Destination ImagiNation® participants (Dayle Kitch and Aaron Eilerts), who lost their lives early in life but were great role models for community service. The $500 scholarship is awarded to a graduating high school student who has participated at least 2 years in Destination ImagiNation®, and who has made an impact as a community volunteer. Ethan wrote about April 9th last year, the same day that the State Tournament took place, to explain one of his volunteer experiences. “It was April 9th and I had just a little stage fright. It was the night of the high school play, and just as the first act was ending, the sirens started to howl. We all took cover in the basement while a tornado struck our town. When we exited the school building, we were amazed at the devastation. The work had just begun. Over the next several weeks I volunteered every chance I got. I helped clear trees and clean up the community. I helped load tin that had blown off buildings and spent many hours cleaning insulation from the chain link fence at school.”
Besides participating in the clean-up effort necessary in the aftermath of a tornado, Ethan volunteers three days a week in a special education classroom by reading to the students. After participating at Boys State his junior year, he became an assistant counselor. When the communities near the Missouri River had flooding last year, Ethan and several of his classmates helped clean up the area around Brown’s Lake. “Volunteering has taught me how to work with others,” he says. “After the tornado hit, I worked with many different people, old and young, male and female, students from different schools and even people who were just passing through and wanted to help. We worked together to move big pieces of debris. I have learned that no matter how bad things may look, if we work together and help each other, we can rise above the situation.”
Ethan plans to study video game design and computer science at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota next fall.
cre8iowa Pin & T-Shirt DIsign Contest
Congratulations and thank you to the two Fairfield girls, Avery Travis and Leanna Miller from Maharishi School, who won the cre8iowa Pin & T-shirt DIsign Contest for the 2012 Legendary Creativity Iowa Affiliate pin and T-shirt that will be worn proudly by all Iowa Global Finals participants, as well as their supporters, at the international competition. The 2013 contest is currently underway. Please visit the contest rules page to learn about submission guidelines. The submission deadline is Monday, July 2, 2012.
Thanks for your support!
It takes many volunteer hours and donations to support the Destination ImagiNation® program in Iowa. Special thanks go to the following for their assistance this past season:
- All Affiliate Board members
- Bruce Antion, Tournament Director
- Affiliate Webmasters
- All Challenge Masters
- Panera Bread for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Sub-state and State Tournaments
- Terry Lowe and the folks from Chartwells who provided food service for our Tournaments
- Mary Boothsby for volunteering at the Sales Table and for donations of sales inventory
- Deanna Jens for donations of sales inventory
- American Legion Foundation for its grant used for medals, plaques and training workshops
- Iowa Energy Center for printing and free use of its facilities for Board meetings and the Advanced Team Manager Training Workshop
- Kuemper Catholic School in Carroll for hosting our Western Appraiser training
- Ames Middle School for hosting our Central Appraiser training and Tournaments, and free use of its facilities
- BluTrack for donating race track and associated supplies for the Games Table
- Hy-Vee, 555 South 51st Street in West Des Moines for donating Instant Challenge supplies for the State Tournament
- Everyone who donated to the Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship and the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship Funds
- All Appraisers, Tournament volunteers, Coordinators, workshop facilitators, Team Managers and parents who provide the Destination Imagination® experience to Iowa students
Competition results
Tournament results are available below:
