LIMESTONE, Maine — After a successful stint at the 2018 state Destination Imagination championship in Bangor March 24, a local team is bound for Tennessee.
The Destination Imagination (DI) team at Limestone Community School earned the top three spots at the state championship. The Golden Zebras high school team received first place, the elementary team won second place, and the other high school and middle-level teams each won third place.
The Golden Zebras are now on a mission to raise funds to help them travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the DI Global Finals May 23-26.
DI students have been using their creativity for fundraising ideas to raise the roughly $10,000 needed to get seven kids and two adults on The Golden Zebra team to Tennessee. So far activities have included a bottle drive and a spaghetti dinner.
Perhaps the most creative idea is “Flushing Limestone.” This involves placing a purple toilet in residents’ front yards and recipients can pay to have it removed, placed somewhere else, and also buy insurance for it to not come back.
DI is a non-profit creative problem-solving program for students of all ages. Teams solve challenges over a period of several months and then compete by performing their solutions, which are in the form of a presentation with many different elements, ranging from motorized vehicles to costumes made of duct tape. All work is done exclusively by the students, and organizers encourage far-fetched, creative solution.
Because of this wide range of possibilities, DI appeals to students with lots of varied interests, who develop teamwork and leadership skills, more confidence, and the ability to think on their feet.
DI has been active in Limestone for many years and the students have been very successful. Kids can participate in grade 4 and continue until they graduate high school. This year, the Limestone Selectmen allowed the local team to participate under the Limestone Recreation Department, because there is no longer a high school in the town. The Rec Dept. team received a donation from the Limestone PTSA to cover the registration fee.
For the first time in Limestone history, enough students signed up to form two teams. The coaches from the previous Limestone High School team volunteered to work with the new teams to keep the program alive.
