ABOUT US

2. ABOUT US • WHO WE ARE • Student teams solve open-ended Challenges and present their solutions at tournaments • Teams learn important life skills like time management, collaboration, conflict resolution, and creative and critical thinking

3. OUR IMPACT • WHO WE ARE • 125,00 participants annually • 1.5 million alumni • 38,000 volunteers worldwide • 48 States & 30 countries

4. Up to 7 members can be on a team • Students from kindergarten through university level participate • Each team needs an adult Team Manager • Team Managers help students stay on track but do not directly help the team develop their solution to the DI Challenge • Team Managers are often faculty members or parents • WHO • PROGRAM OVERVIEW

5. There are seven new Challenges to choose from each year • Each of the Challenges is developed by a team of educators and industry experts who target a particular area of the curriculum and its related standards of content and performance. • The areas of focus include: Technical, Scientific, Fine Arts, Improvisational, Structural and Service Learning • There is also a non-competitive Early Learning Challenge • WHAT • PROGRAM OVERVIEW

6. Each season takes place from September through May • Depending on the Challenge, teams typically spend 4 to 6 months developing and practicing their Challenge solutions • WHEN • PROGRAM OVERVIEW

7. WHERE • The team’s solutions are assessed at regional, state or country tournaments • Beachwood runs DI as an after school program • Every year, local volunteers help run 200+ tournaments around the world • PROGRAM OVERVIEW

8. Each challenge is designed to teach students: Critical Thinking, Creative Expression, Team Collaboration, Interpersonal Communication, Presentation Skills, Time Management, Perseverance, Risk Taking, Stages of the Creative Process and Self-directed Learning. • Our participants experience the creative process, develop new friendships and learn to work together • WHY • PROGRAM OVERVIEW

9. Teams choose one of seven Challenges • After months spent creating and developing their solutions, they go to a tournament • Top-scoring teams advance, and the top tier goes to our Global Finals tournament—the world’s largest celebration of creativity • 15,000+ attend Global Finals • HOW • PROGRAM OVERVIEW

10. Technical Your team has searched high and low and it seems like there’s nowhere to go. Now it’s time to Dig In and get to the Object(ive). Are you in, or are you out? • Points of Interest
- Design and build equipment to detect objects in their hiding places.
- Use team designed and built equipment to take the objects out of their hiding places.
- Move objects across the finish line.
- Create and present a story about a technology that detects things a human cannot sense without help.
 • A: TECHNICAL • TEAM CHALLENGES

11. Scientific Have you ever been inside a volcano? What about a hydrothermal vent?  I hear the top of Mt. Everest is lovely this time of year! Quick, grab your gear because we are Going to Extremes. • Points of Interest
- Explore an Extreme Environment that exists in our universe.
- Present a Story about characters who adapt to survive in the Extreme Environment.
- Design and create Extreme Gear that is demonstrated by using Technical Methods.
- Design and create a depiction of the Extreme Environment. • B: SCIENCE • TEAM CHALLENGES

12. Fine Arts We all know Mona Lisa smiles, but can you make her giggle? Maybe, if you’re really good, you’ll even make her Laugh ART Loud. • Points of Interest
- Research works of art created by artists who were born in a nation other than the team’s own.
- Theatrically present a comic strip that is based on a work of art created by the artist from the nation.
- Create three live comic strip panels.
- Create an ARTifact that is inspired by the work of art.
- Design and create a Caption Contraption for one of the comic strip panels. • C: FINE ARTS • TEAM CHALLENGES

13. Improvisational When the past meets the present, you’ve got to MAKE IT WORK. Why? It’s Pandemonium! • Points of Interest
- Create an original five-minute Improvisational Skit
- Develop the interaction between a character from the past and a contemporary character.
- Show how those characters work, using the time period, their occupations and skills, to deal with Pandemonium.
- Use stage makeup to create, develop, and/or enhance one skit character.
  • D: IMPROVISATIONAL • TEAM CHALLENGES

14. Structural Two forces. One structure. Will your team rally to prevent destruction OR crumble under the pressure? • Points of Interest
- Build a structure that will be tested against two forces at the same time.
- Design a prop that will be assembled during your presentation. The prop’s parts must fit completely inside a measured space.
- Create a story in which tension is a threat to stability and is overcome in some way. • E: STRUCTURAL • TEAM CHALLENGES

15. Service Learning OKAY. Here are the rules of the game. Find a community need and put the pieces together. Will you pass or will you play? • Points of Interest
- Use the creative process to identify and select at least one real community need.
- Design and carry out a Project that addresses the real community need.
- Use Play to meet the goal(s) of the Project.
- Use a team-created Elevator Pitch to enlist at least one Community Partner.
- The team will create a live Presentation that features the Project. • SERVICE LEARNING • TEAM CHALLENGES

16. Early Learning The circus is coming! The circus is coming! Under the direction of your team’s Ringmaster, you’ll need to find your balance and act it out.  • Points of Interest
-  Create your own circus!
- Learn about circuses and the role of the Ringmaster
- Learn about balancing things
- Learn about geometric shapes
- Explore how your team works together to make decisions about the three acts of your circus performance. • EARLY LEARNING • TEAM CHALLENGES

17. At the tournament, teams will solve two types of Challenges: Team Challenges and Instant Challenges • Teams will perform their Challenge solutions to a group of Appraisers. • Appraisers are local volunteers who have been trained to assess the Challenges • Instant Challenges require teams to engage in quick, creative and critical thinking • APPRAISING • AT THE TOURNAMENT

18. Instant Challenge • Instant Challenges require teams to engage in quick, creative and critical thinking. At a tournament, a team will receive an Instant Challenge and the materials with which to solve it. The team members must think on their feet by applying appropriate skills to produce a solution in a period of just five to eight minutes. • In a world with growing cultural connections, increased levels and types of communication, and a new need for real-time teamwork and problem solving, the ability to solve problems quickly is becoming increasingly critical. • AT THE TOURNAMENT • INSTANT CHALLENGES

19. AT THE TOURNAMENT • INSTANT CHALLENGES • Instant Challenges are performance-based, task-based, or a combination of the two. Although each Instant Challenge has different requirements, all Instant Challenges reward teams for their teamwork and the creativity of their solutions. Instant Challenges are kept confidential until the day of the Tournament.

20. Challenge: Build the tallest possible structure, place a feather on the top and then blow the feather off to land as far away as possible. Time: You have 5 minutes to use your teamwork, creativity and innovation skills to build the structure with the materials provided. You will then have one chance to blow the feather as far as you can. The Scene: You have been asked to build a new prop for the sequel to The Muppets. The structure must be as tall as possible so that the feather can fly a long distance. (Note: the structure must be free-standing on the table top) After the 5 minute build-time, the height of the structure will be measured. You will then place the feather on the top of the structure and with one large puff of air, see how far the feather will fly. Materials: aluminum foil, 2 paper clips, 4 straws, 3 sheets paper, 4 pipe cleaners, 1 label, feather • FLYING FEATHER • INSTANT CHALLENGE

21. What being on a DI team means: • General Information • Team manager(s) being found for each team! We can only have a team if there is a parent who is willing to be the team manager for that team. (Team Managers’ training on Saturday, October 26 9:00- 11:00 at Gesu School in University Heights.) • Team managers meeting with Mrs. Lewis at the end of September, beginning of October to plan the year, get all of the paperwork that needs to be filled out by December, and answer questions about DI. • Weekly practice for 1-2 hours (day and place decided by each team individually) with practices increasing as competition draws near. • Competition on Saturday, March 15 at Beachwood High School!!! (all day). You must be able to be there for both your team’s instant challenge and central challenge. • If the team decides they want this, Mrs. Lewis will work every other week with them on instant challenge. At team meetings, the team manager also needs to work on instant challenges. • Instant Challenge Evenings at least twice throughout the year. • Payment of a $50 activity fee is required as well as approximately $25 for team supplies • Lots of fun as you work with your team to solve really cool challenges!