The mission of Destination Imagination is to inspire and equip children to become the next generation of innovators and leaders. This hands- on,  challenge based program is steeped in STEM concepts, improv, visual arts, service learning and early learning; all concepts that promote critical and creative thinking skills.

Our homeschool teams have been solving these open-ended, standards-based, challenges in St. Mays County since 2012. In the fall, each team of up to seven members choose a challenge from the listed focus areas. They meet weekly during the months leading up to the regional competition held in February.

This year, St. Mary’s County had four homeschool teams present their challenge solutions to trained DI appraisers at the South Central regional tournament in Edgewater Maryland. Three of these teams advanced to the state tournament which was held on April 1,2017 at University of Maryland Baltimore County. One of the teams, The Bay Force comprised of children in 4th-5th grade, ranked second at the Maryland state tournament and will compete at the Global Tournament held at the University of Tennessee in May.

The  Bay Force team competed in the service learning challenge. The team was tasked with identifying a community need, developing a plan to help with that need and then had to create a fable to highlight the work they did throughout the DI season. As implied by their team name, The Bay Force identified the waterways in St. Marys County as an area of need. The team focused on cleaning up roadways, beaches, and neighborhoods in the county. Their main objective was to inspire others to be mindful of the litter that eventually seeps into our waterways. The moral of the fable they wrote and acted out was, “if everyone does a little, we can change a lot.”

The team created fable, with multiple scoring elements, was presented by the team at each tournament. In May The Bay Force will compete against top teams from 45 states and over 15 countries at Destination Imagination Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The team plans to fundraise to help offset associated costs. If you would like more information or are interested in making a tax-deductible donation please contact Erin Jones emrjones@me.com