The seventh annual Destination ImagiNation State Finals Tournament will be held at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday, April 8.

Portions of the event will be held in the Collins Classroom Center, the College of Professional Studies, the College of Natural Resources, the Health Enhancement Center, and the Dreyfus University Center. The public is invited to watch more than 220 teams present solutions to their Destination ImagiNation Team Challenges.

Teams, formed of no more than seven students and an adult leader, choose one of five challenges and spend weeks or even months developing a solution to present. The challenges are designed by a panel of parents and educators to help students think creatively and discover new skills. Teams also must present a solution to an Instant Challenge, a new problem introduced the day of the competition. Both presentations are evaluated to determine ranking.

Each year, about 700,000 students are involved in the program worldwide. Wisconsin is currently the second largest Destination ImagiNation affiliate in the world. There are nine regional tournaments held every Saturday in March leading to the finals held at UWSP. The first and second place teams in each challenge and level will advance to the Global Finals held at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, May 24-27.

Volunteers and appraisers are still needed for the State Finals Tournament. Volunteers will help escort teams and perform various other tasks. Appraisers will evaluate team performances for either the Instant Challenges or the Team Challenges. For information about volunteering, contact Pat Schoonover or Linda Rice at (715) 346-4713, or creative@uwsp.edu.

For more information about the Destination ImagiNation State Finals and a complete schedule, visit www.uwsp.edu/education/creative/di. The Wisconsin Destination ImagiNation program is sponsored by the School of Education at UWSP.

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