OUR PROGRAM
Creative problem-solving through STEAM challenges
WHAT IS DESTINATION IMAGINATION?
Destination Imagination is a project-based STEAM learning experience where student teams solve open-ended challenges and present their solutions at tournaments. Teams of up to 7 members work together over several months to create their own unique solution — with no adult help allowed. This “no interference” rule is what makes DI special: students own every idea.
HOW IT WORKS
Choose a Challenge
Teams select one of six Team Challenges to work on for the season.
Create a Solution
Over several months, teams brainstorm, design, build, and rehearse their solution.
Compete Regionally
Present your solution at a regional tournament and be scored by trained appraisers.
Advance
Top teams qualify for State, and State winners can go to Global Finals!
2026–2027 TEAM CHALLENGES
This season’s seven Challenges. Full Challenge details release to registered teams August 1, 2026.
TECHNICAL
Get Sorted
Using engineering, research, and strategic planning, teams build a sorting system and tell a story about a character who ends up in the wrong place.
SCIENTIFIC
Lab Legends
Teams blend scientific research with performance, telling the story of two rivals racing toward the same goal — kept moving by a live-action montage.
FINE ARTS
Act Natural
Move over, Aesop! Teams create an original fable with non-human characters and a meaningful lesson, using natural materials, interactive scenery, and an animated prop.
IMPROVISATIONAL
Just Duet
Teams step into the shoes of a famous duo caught in a ridiculous situation, using a single tool, background music, and improv to tell a two-act story.
ENGINEERING
Under Investigation
Teams design and build a freestanding weight-measurement system, then use it as part of a story about the detailed investigation of an unusual occurrence.
SERVICE LEARNING
Game Changers
Teams design and carry out a project that addresses a real community need, then share what they accomplished through a story set in a video game world.
EARLY LEARNING
Feeling Wild
Non-competitive K–2 challenge: teams explore how animals use their senses, then create a play about animals who discover a mysterious object.
PLUS: INSTANT CHALLENGE
Every Team Competes
Every team also participates in Instant Challenge at their tournament — a spontaneous problem-solving activity where teams have just minutes to come up with a creative solution. Teams never know what the challenge will be until they walk into the room!
COMPETITION LEVELS
A level for every age
EARLY LEARNING
K – 2nd Grade
Introduction to DI for the Youngest Learners, Regional Competition Only.
ELEMENTARY
3rd – 5th Grade (EL)
Teams compete at regional and state tournaments.
MIDDLE LEVEL
6th – 8th Grade (ML)
More complex challenges with higher expectations.
SECONDARY
9th – 12th Grade (SL)
The most challenging level, eligible for Global Finals.
UNIVERSITY
College Age (UL)
Continuing the DI experience at the university level.
THE COMPETITION PATH
Regional Tournament
7 regions across Colorado
State Tournament
@ Colorado School of Mines
Global Finals
Kansas City, MO