Having placed at the regional competition in February, the South Whidbey Elementary Destination Imagination (DI) team “South Whidbey Mystery” traveled to Wenatchee for the state competition on March 31.  The team was one of 40 elementary school teams represented at the state-wide event, with seven of those in the same category as South Whidbey Mystery.

South Whidbey Mystery competed in Challenge A:  Assembly Required. In this challenge, teams must design and build a device to pick up and deliver parts and products.  They must assemble the products from team-provided parts to fill orders. Points are given for the number of orders filled and also for presenting a story to tie the entire presentation together.

All teams also compete in an “Instant Challenge” (IC).  The IC is a surprise challenge where the team has 5 to 8 minutes to think on its feet and devise a solution.  Instant Challenges provide an impromptu creative experience for the teams.

The South Whidbey Mystery team worked on their challenge after school and on weekends.  They designed their products, built their device for pickup and delivery, practiced and improved all season. There was a tense moment before the performance when their mechanism suffered an electrical malfunction, but the students quickly sorted out the problem and fixed it before their presentation. Their efforts paid off with a third-place finish in their category.

Team manager Brian Miller would like to thank the team members for all their hard work and all the parents for their support this season.