Westonka Students Unleash 'Imagination'

Lorrie Ham

Westonka's Secondary Level Destination Imagination Team earned a trip to the Global Finals after finishing in second-place at the state tournament last Saturday in Champlin. Ninth-graders Connor Born, Conner Demchuk, Zach Hoh, Nick Battis, Zach Martin and Trey Peterson—dubbed DI Terminators—advanced to the Global Finals, which will take place May 23-26 in Knoxville, TN.

The Middle Level DI team also did very well at the state tournament, placing 5th of the 12 competing teams. Grandview sixth-graders Brandi Norum, Katie Ferrell, Sydney Hermanson, Megan Heins, Calli Battis, Audrey Woychick and Liz Thorson did well against the competition.

Both teams competed in Maple Grove back in February to earn the right to compete at the state level. The Westonka teams, coached by volunteer Lori Andersen, have been meeting weekly since October.

“We will be fundraising over the next few weeks as the trip to the finals will cost about $5,000 for the team,” said Andersen. “The team is so excited.”

Plans include a garage sale and a possible hot dog sale as well as some other ideas.

At the state tournament, both teams tackled the Challenge E Project which is titled “Hold It!”

Teams had to build a small structure made of only wood and glue with a max weight of 50 grams for the girls and 25 grams for the boys. The structure had to hold Olympic size weights along with up to 24 golf balls that had to be deposited by another team-made device from 10 inches away.

The boys’ structure held 22 golf balls and 342 pounds, while the girls’ structure held 21 golf balls and 192 pounds.

The teams also had to perform a play about something or someone who was "captivated.” The boys did a spoof of Jersey Shore called "Jersey Golf," and the girls did a giant Monopoly game. Teams had to create all props, costumes and ideas by themselves. There was also an "Instant Challenge" which presented a problem for teams to solve in approximately five minutes.

According to its Web site, the Minnesota Destination Imagination is the state's largest non-athletic team activity with competitions spanning a range of student age groups from kindergarten through college. Organizers hope participants will gain an understanding that "creativity, teamwork and perseverance" will yield creative solutions to complex problems—lessons that they can take into the workplace after entering the workforce.