Destination Imagination empowers students!

Working with their teammates, students learn curiosity, creativity, and courage.
Students gain the confidence they need to take on any challenge, both inside and outside the classroom.
DONATE NOW!

Your donation will bring The DI program to more California students!

How to donate

Online – Donations can be made by credit card by clicking on the DONATE NOW button.Check – Make checks payable to California Destination Imagination

Mail checks to:
CA Destination Imagination 
14843 Priscilla Street 
San Diego, CA  92129

Other ways to help

Talk to your friends, neighbors, and relatives about the benefits of DI: teamwork, problem solving, and creativity.

Like California Destination Imagination on Facebook.

Talk to teachers and school administrators about the program.

Talk to your Regional Director about local volunteer opportunities.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today to bring Destination Imagination to more students

Thank you for your support!

Inspiring • Empowering • Life Changing

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Start Meeting With Your Team

2-4 Weeks

Attend Training in your Region –
The Region  workshop will help new Team Managers prepare to start their DI journey. This training is packed with ICs, Team Builders, tips and HELP! Come ready to dive in and learn, share your experiences, and get ready to have FUN!

Start Meeting with your Team

Interference 

Team Rules

Introduce the Challenges

Instant Challenge – The Instant Challenge portion of the DI competition is a chance for your team to show off its creative problem solving skills as they work together and “think on their feet” in a very short time frame to solve a problem. ICs are usually 5-10 minutes long.

Volunteer Today!

If you would like to Volunteer in California or need more information fill in your details and we’ll get back to you in no time.

The Destination Imagination (DI) Experience!

Destination Imagination (DI) is a global program that promotes problem solving, teamwork, and creativity in students. Teams of up to seven students choose a challenge to work creatively and collaboratively to find a solution. Teams present their team challenge solutions by performing a skit in front of an audience and appraisers. The team challenges emphasize Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). In addition, the DI experience exposes students to instant challenges that give students practice in rapid thinking, design, planning, and executing. In DI, the solution belongs to the team members and the team members alone. All ideas, scenery, scripts, and props are created by the team members. No one outside the team may help in any way with the solution to the challenge. Team members sign a contract prior to every tournament stating that the solution is theirs and no one outside the team helped. Rising Stars teams have modified guidelines for interference rules.

Connect with Us!

To Find a Team, Start a Team or Volunteer in our Region,
Please fill in your details and we’ll get back to you in no time!

Get Organized

1-2 Weeks

Review your Resources 

Review Program Materials 

Your membership number allows access to the challenge program materials which are available for download . As soon as you purchase a team number you may download your Challenge Materials from MyCALDI

  • Team Challenge Previews 
    • Use these to help your Team choose their challenge
      • Challenge Previews
      • Challenge Preview Videos  
      • First Look Documents
  • Roadmap
    • Roadmap is a Team Manager resource developed to assist you in guiding your team members as they design and execute a Challenge solution. Section three (Guiding Your Team) explains the roles you will fill as a Team Manager, gives examples of how to begin solving a Challenge, introduces project management, and provides example meeting agendas. Section three will also point you to other resources available in Roadmap.
  • Rules of the Road
    • Rules of the Road is a document that contains all of the rules, procedures, and some of the forms required to participate in a Team Challenge at a tournament. Regardless of the Team Challenge a team has selected, it is very important for the team members to review Rules of the Road to learn the details of the Challenge experience, to prepare for tournaments, and to make sure the Team Challenge solution complies with rules and procedures found in Rules of the Road.
  • Team Challenge Materials
    • As soon as your Team has chosen their challenge, download a copy of the full team challenge

Child Safety & Youth Protection Guidelines

We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct. Complete Policy Statement.

Background Check

    • It is IMPORTANT to use the same legal name and email address that you use to register at MY CALDI!
    • Obtain a BackGround check BEFORE you begin meeting with your Team. Caldi Background check policy can be viewed HERE
    • Click on the button at the top of your MY CALDI home page to apply for a background check . 
    • Background Check FAQ can be found HERE

Please note only a CALDI approved background check will be accepted. 

Find a meeting Location

    • Meetings can be held at the home of the Team Manager, but can also be held elsewhere at parent’s homes, school or community rooms.
    • Your team will need a space in which to store the materials they are using and the things (props, scenery, gadgets, costumes, etc.) that they make.

Choose a Meeting Day and Time

Choose what works best for you. You are volunteering to help guide the kids every week. 

Hold a Parent Meeting

Before you meet with the kids you need to get organized. Make sure you have the help you need before your first Team Meeting

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Get Started

2-4 Weeks

Attend Training

Start Meeting

  • Typical Meeting outline
  • First 5 Meeting Plans

Teamwork & Team Building

Instant Challenge – How to Teach your Team

Discuss Challenges 

  • Watch Challenge Video
  • First Look Document

Interference

Choose a Challenge

2-4 Weeks

Team Name Selection – DI Team names are often DI punny or unusual. Teams often choose creative names that relate to their challenge or presentation in some way or just make them laugh. Let the Team go wild with their choice.

How to get your Team to choose a Challenge

How to read a Challenge

Big Ideas 

Team Choice Elements

Make A Plan

4-6 Weeks

Dissect a Challenge

Brainstorm Ideas 

Research Information – the hardest for teams to complete is the research phase because many kids aren’t super interested in pushing through this drier part of the process. Make sure that everyone has a copy of the Challenge at each meeting and that they keep referring to the things that they have decided that they need to learn in order to solve the Challenge. Refine Ideas 

Create a Plan

The Team's Solution

6-8 Weeks

Improv Teams

Non-Improv Teams

Creating Props, Backdrops & Costumes

The Design Process              Image result for Destination Imagination creative process

Steps in the design Build process

Script writing

Get Ready for the Tournament

2-3 Weeks

Practicing

Planning

Celebrate!

1 Week

After Tournament Celebration

Summer Activities

Get Help

1 Week

List of Ways Parents Can Help

Team Appraiser & Team Official Descriptions

Instant Challenge Helper Box of supplies

Skill Mentors

Tournament Day

Be the Team Cheerleader!

Typical day at the Tournament

Set Expectations of Kids & Parents

Paperwork & Contact Forms

Tournament FAQs

 

 

Even More ICs

Write your own IC –Use this matrix as a model for developing your own IC’s.

Practice Sets from Roadmaps

ICs from CDs

IC Information

Teams need a basic understanding of what Instant Challenge is and what to expect. Start off by watching a video and then try a simple IC. Make it FUN!

Basic Information

Teaching Information –

IC Skills

Material Skills

Team Skills

Task Based Instant Challenges

General Information

Training for Task Based ICs

Performance ICs

General Information

Training for Performance ICs

Tips & Tournament Preparation

Attend Region IC Events

Tips to Improve Team Scores

Instant Challenge Tournament Procedures

Paperwork

 

IC Basic Information

The Instant Challenge portion of the DI competition is a chance for your team to show off its creative problem solving skills as they work together and “think on their feet” in a very short time frame to solve a problem. ICs are usually 5-10 minutes long.

Basic Information

Teaching Information –

Teamwork

A team is a group of people, united by a common culture and purpose, who are cooperating to achieve quality results.

The challenge we have as Team Managers – helping kids develop healthy and effective interpersonal skills and processes so they can work cooperatively.

Teaching Teamwork

Teaching Listening Skills

Dealing with Team Conflict

IC Materials

Having a common vocabulary and a way to categorize the properties of the materials you have been given will allow your team to jump into the planning and executing stages of the Instant Challenge more easily. ​​

IC Training Plan

FUN is key!
If your team isn’t having fun they won’t master the skills! Be enthusiastic and crazy, help your team relax. You are their Cheerleader.

Promote a sense of camaraderie, and collaboration. Praise the kids when they take risks even if it doesn’t work. Teach them to learn from failure, embrace it and improve.

Training Guide

Teaching Information –

 

IC Tips & Tournament Prep

Tips and advice on ways to help your team  improve in Instant Challenge.

Start by attending the Instant Challenge workshops offered by your Region. These workshops  give your Team a chance to practice all the skills they’ve been learning in a non-competitive environment. It is FUN and helps teams figure out what they do well and what they need to work on before Tournament day

Rising Stars ICs

 

ICs by Type

Mini Challenges

Structures

Bridges

Ball and Ramps

To Move

To Protect

Performance based

Communication

Combo Types

These have debrief notes specific to each challenge

Find A Team

California Creativity Essay Scholarship

2010  Caryn DeFrees

2012  Alexander Guy

2013  Alexis Klopack

2015  Emily Mair

2016  Heidi Kevalevsky

2018  Savita Balaji

2019  Kaelyn Ong

2020  Caroline Liebe

 

Justin Kissel Scholarship

2010  Walter Scott Campbell

2011  Erica Grant

2011  Christopher Piotrowski

2012  Zachary Campbell

2013  Mark Rinkel

2014  Crystal Piotrowski

2015  Diana Terrin Spray

2016  Griffin Berlin

2017  Alexis Franklin

2017  Justin Yeung

2018  Rebecca Yee

2019  Sara Smith