Local teams shine in ImagiNation

Four local creative problem-solving teams qualified for global finals after good showings at the state Destination ImagiNation tournament held recently in Three Forks.

Two Kalispell Middle School squads and two high school teams from Chrysalis School in Eureka won their problem-solving challenges and qualified for Destination ImagiNation’s Global Finals competition, scheduled for May 26 through 29 in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Kalispell Middle School Zig Zags were rated “outstanding” for their work in the Band Together challenge.

For the last several months, the team’s three eighth-graders and two seventh-graders have been brainstorming ways to raise money for Kalispell Parks and Recreation’s scholarship fund, which will allow kids who might not otherwise be able to afford it participate in Parks and Rec programs.

The team has sponsored hat days at schools in the Kalispell district and will host a dodgeball tournament with Parks and Rec April 10.

Another middle school team, The Huertanators, scored first place in the middle level DI-BOT competition. In that challenge, teams create a story that demonstrates how robotic technology affects a character. Their presentations include devices that use robotic technology.

Mostly Uninhabited, a team from Chrysalis School, was rated “outstanding” in the secondary level of the Band Together challenge. Their community outreach project involved raising awareness of human trafficking by spreading word about the problem among their peers at school. Their efforts included hanging signs and posters to remind their classmates about the problem of human trafficking, and writing and performing songs about the subject.

Team Narwhal, also from Chrysalis, won first place in the You’re Gonna Flip challenge, in which teams integrated puppetry and live visual art to show what happens when a character “flips” his or her opinion about a topic. Narwhal team members created a backdrop from scratch to tell the story of a boy band, and wrote songs highlighting the difference between conforming to the music industry’s expectations and being creative and expressing oneself.

More than 160 students competed at the state competition, said Heather Geiger, director of Montana Destination ImagiNation.

“It is astounding to see the talent and dedication of Destination ImagiNation students,” she said. “The skills they gain through these events will play a monumental role in their lives as they move through their education and begin serving as our future leaders.”

Nearly 1,000 teams from all 50 states and more than 40 countries will compete at the Global Finals tournament in Knoxville.

To get there, local teams will have to raise a significant amount of money.

Kate Rosin, Chrysalis’ Destination ImagiNation adviser, estimates it will cost about $1,000 per person. Lisa Thiel, the Zig Zags’ adviser, put the cost at closer to $1,100 to $1,200 per person.

Three of the four local qualifying teams will be fundraising over the next several weeks. The Huertanators will not be going to Global Finals, Thiel said.

To help the Zig Zags go to Knoxville, contact Thiel at 471-2147.

To help Chrysalis teams reach the competition, contact Rosin at (406) 889-5577 or mail donations to Chrysalis Destination ImagiNation, ATTN: Kate Rosin, 77 Trails End Road, Eureka, MT 59917.