Contact: Talee Messenger, talee.messenger@nhicc.org
Wayne Kurtzman, wayne@nh-di.org
This Saturday, March 23, 2024, Inter-Lakes High School in Meredith, New Hampshire, will host the New Hampshire Destination Imagination Northern Regional Tournament. For over 300 students from 20 communities, the event is their chance to demonstrate their abilities in creative problem solving, innovation, and teamwork, as their teams come together to showcase their talents in competition.
Destination Imagination is a global educational nonprofit organization that encourages students to develop essential skills including creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication through hands-on, project-based Challenges. The regional tournament in Meredith will feature teams of students competing in various challenge categories, including scientific, technical, engineering, fine arts, improvisational, and service learning. Teams must solve their challenge, from ideation to solution, strictly by themselves without any assistance from non-team members.
Participants have been preparing for months, designing and building solutions to these complex Challenges that test their ingenuity and problem-solving abilities. The tournament will provide them with an opportunity to present their projects to a panel of Appraisers and to demonstrate the results of their hard work.
Top scoring teams in their Challenge and age groups will join the top teams from the Southern Regional tournament in advancing to NH Destination Imagination State Affiliate Finals Tournament on Saturday, April 6 in Goffstown. The top scoring teams from that event will qualify to compete in Destination Imagination Global Finals in Kansas City, MO at the end of May.
The following communities will have teams participating in Meredith this Saturday:
| Organization |
| Bedford DI |
| Berlin Elementary School |
| Berlin High School |
| Berlin Middle School |
| Bow High School |
| Bow School District, SAU #67 |
| Building Block Commons |
| Concord |
| Enfield Village Owls |
| Ernest P. Barka Elementary School |
| Grantham Village School |
| Homeschool |
| Hopkinton School District |
| Indian River School, Mascoma District |
| Inter-Lakes Elementary School |
| Inter-Lakes Middle High School |
| Laconia Middle School |
| Pinkerton Academy, Derry |
| SAU 75 – Grantham |
| SAU 88 – West Lebanon |
| SAU8 – Concord |
| Thornton |
QUICK TAKE:
WHO: Students K-12th grade from area New Hampshire schools and community groups. Teams of up to 7 students will compete within their chosen Challenge and age level.
WHAT: Destination Imagination Regional Tournaments. Team Challenges are often very visual and are focused in: Technical, Scientific, Engineering, Fine Arts, Improvisational, and Service Learning and Entrepreneurship. There is also a non-competitive Early Learning Challenge that allows participants to develop social and problem-solving skills. Top-finishing teams advance to the State Finals on April 6th in Goffstown. Top scoring teams from “States” can qualify to attend Destination Imagination Global Finals to compete with the best teams from 15 countries and nearly every state.
WHERE/WHEN
- Saturday, March 23: Inter-Lakes High School, 1 Laker Ln, Meredith, NH (9AM – 2 PM, best times)
- State Finals: Saturday, April 6: Goffstown High School. 27 Wallace Rd, Goffstown, NH 03045
- Top scoring teams will qualify to represent New Hampshire at Destination Imagination Global Finals in May.
About NH-DI and NHICC
The New Hampshire Innovation and Creativity Connection (NHICC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes teamwork, creative problem solving, and innovation in New Hampshire. NHICC works with students ranging from preschool to college and sponsors programs such as New Hampshire Destination Imagination® (NH-DI) to help young people in New Hampshire become future leaders and innovators. NHICC administers the Destination Imagination program in New Hampshire. NHICC also operates one of the oldest creativity summer camps in the country, Camp Gottalikachallenge.
Destination Imagination (DI)’s mission is to inspire and equip youth to imagine and innovate through the creative process. A 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Destination Imagination Challenge Program extends to over 150,000 students in 30 countries and nearly every U.S. state each year. DI’s core values include collaboration, respect, stewardship, perseverance, and integrity.
Globally Destination Imagination, Inc has over 1.5-million alumni – students who have been on teams while in school. New Hampshire has over 115,000 alumni, many who have returned as volunteers.