A victory ride around their community in a fire truck—flashing lights and all—helped Manhattan (Mont.) Christian School students celebrate big wins at the Global Finals for Destination ImagiNation in Knoxville, Tenn.
Manhattan Christian’s elementary team won first place, earning top rating in competition with 72 other teams from around the world. The middle school team won fourth place, competing with 63 teams, and also won the Da Vinci Award for outstanding creativity. Nearly 1,000 teams attended the Global Finals.
Destination ImagiNation is the world’s largest creative-problem-solving program for young people from kindergarten through college. Students select a category for their team challenge, then spend months preparing their presentation. Students also practice quick-thinking skills for the Instant Challenge portion of the program.
Shirley Dyk has mentored Manhattan Christian’s teams for 16 years and thinks her favorite part is seeing the kids’ expressions when they finally work out the solution—especially in the Instant Challenge. “Destination ImagiNation is a great program for letting kids think,” said Harry Armstrong, the middle school team’s assistant coach.
