Are you a parent who is looking for new opportunities to inspire your kids?
Or maybe you’re an educator who is passionate about STEAM-based learning?
Become a Destination Imagination Team Manager!
Our program is 100-percent kid-driven. Students work together in teams to generate ideas, research different topics and techniques, and plan and build their Challenge solutions. This is done under the guidance of a Team Manager (often a parent or teacher), who serves as a mentor and team meeting facilitator but does not contribute ideas or help the team with their project.
As a Team Manager, your team will have the opportunity to explore their curiosities and be creative while building their teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. And best of all—you will have the opportunity to be a front row spectator as this experience unfolds
PARENT PARTICIPATION NEEDED
Every team of seven students needs at least one adult Team Manager (18 years or older). The most successful Team Managers (TMs) are involved and invested parents, Teachers or friends! It can be helpful to have two TMs for a team, or a TM and an Assistant TM. Whatever works for you!
As a TM, you’ll have the opportunity to teach real-world, life-long skills to your team. You’ll have the satisfaction of watching kids come together to create a unique solution that they can be proud of. And, they’ll rub off on you, as you become more creative as well!
As a Team Manager, you:
- Supporting your team with encouragement.
- Organize a time and place for your team to meet together regularly (Your home, garage, neighborhood club house or school)
- Act as a facilitator to the team, making sure the kids are making progress in solving their challenge and preparing for the tournament. Team Managers don’t solve the challenge, the kids do!
- Help the team obtain materials to solve the challenge,
- Find people to teach skills the team needs to solve their challenge. Ie. Cutting wood, using a hammer or sewing and painting
- Keep parents informed about the Team’s progress
- Prepare Instant Challenges for the kids to practice at team meetings.
- Cheer for your team on tournament day
NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Being a team manager can be a truly rewarding experience. We want to make this program available to as many interested students as possible. All Teams are managed by volunteers and are required to obtain a background check to ensure child safety.
We provide extensive training and support for Team Managers to help guide you through the season. Team Managers attend a training session given in their Region and there is online training available. Team Managers also receive amazing Challenge materials from DI! Every Region also hosts workshops for you and your team to help build skills.
Sounds easy, so get started TODAY!
What happens at the tournament?
Teams compete in their level with other teams from their Region area.
There are two parts to the Tournament:
A team will select a Team Challenge to solve in advance of the tournament and will prepare their solution in the months leading up to the tournament. The team must solve the challenge themselves, with no assistance (interference) from anyone not even parents, friends, Team Managers or siblings. At the tournament, teams will deliver a presentation (performance) of their solution in 8 minutes to a group of appraisers. The Team Challenge is worth 75% of their final score.
INSTANT CHALLENGE
At the tournament, teams will also be given an Instant Challenge, which they will be asked to solve in a very short period of time, without knowing the challenge in advance. Teams will go into a room and will be given a challenge and the materials with which to solve it. They use their quick thinking and teamwork skills to produce a solution, usually in a period of five to eight minutes! Teams practice many different Instant Challenges during the season to prepare for this part of the competition. The Instant Challenge is worth 25% of their final score.