Destination Imagination

Team creative problem solving across technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts and service challenges.

Run by Destination Imagination, Inc.

Eligible grades: Five levels: non-competitive Early Learning, then competitive Elementary, Middle, Secondary and University. The Wisconsin affiliate defines Elementary as kindergarten to grade 5, Middle as grades 6 to 8 and Secondary as grades 9 to 12. A team competes at the level of its oldest member.
DI's own page says teams are formed 'based on their grade or age'. The grade boundaries are from a state affiliate's page, which also gives birthdate cutoffs; confirm with your own affiliate.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Official divisions: Elementary, Middle and Secondary competitive levels plus a non-competitive Early Learning tier, with a team placed by its oldest member.
Based on the organiser's own divisions.
Eligible ages: Age alternatives apply alongside grades. For 2026-27 the Wisconsin affiliate lists: Elementary, no student born before 15 June 2014; Middle, none born before 15 June 2011; Secondary, none born before 15 June 2007.
Taken from a state affiliate, not the national site. Your affiliate may publish its own dates.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Individual or team: Team · A team is 2 to 7 members. Teams are responsible for designing and creating 100% of their solution, and no interference from non-team members is allowed.
Where it runs: In person · United States, International
Entry cost: A Team Number for the 2026-27 season costs $165 at the Early Bird rate from 15 May to 14 July 2026, rising to $175 from 15 July. Affiliate fees may apply depending on location and are set by the local affiliate. Pricing outside the US is adjusted for local conditions and was to be posted on 15 July. Separately, teams that reach Global Finals pay a registration fee of $5,500 per US team or $5,000 per non-US team for 2026.The previous listing's '$100 to $1,000' did not reflect the Global Finals fee. DI states financial assistance is available.
Registration deadline: Set locally, not published as a single national date Tournament registration deadlines are set by each affiliate.
Competition dates: Full details of the 2026-27 Team Challenges are released to registered teams on 31 July 2026. Regional and affiliate tournaments run through the school year, with Global Finals in late May.
Difficulty: Some preparation neededYou will want a few weeks of targeted practice. Most motivated students place respectably.
Prizes: Trophies, medals and Global Finals qualificationAwards rather than cash; specifics not confirmed on the pages checked.

What Destination Imagination is

Destination Imagination gives teams a choice of open-ended challenges each season across technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts, improvisational and service learning categories. Teams spend months developing a solution and present it alongside an instant challenge solved on the spot. Like Odyssey of the Mind, adult interference is prohibited, and the two programmes are close cousins with different challenge sets.

How the competition works

Six competitive Team Challenges each season: Technical, Scientific, Engineering, Fine Arts, Improvisational and Service Learning, plus an Early Learning Challenge. For 2026-27 the previews include a sorting-system Technical Challenge and a Scientific Challenge about two rivals racing to a goal.

Eligibility notes

Elementary, Middle and Secondary levels, plus a non-competitive Early Learning programme for the youngest children.

Is Destination Imagination right for you?

Experience needed: None. Challenges span technical to artistic, so most students find one that suits them.
Time commitment: Several months of weekly team meetings.
What you actually do: You develop an original solution to an open challenge over months, present it at a tournament, and separately solve a short Instant Challenge on the day with no preparation.

A good fit if

You want a wide choice of challenge type rather than one fixed format
You like team problem solving
You want something available from elementary school

Probably not for you if

Students wanting individual competition
Teams unwilling to work without adult input

Compare this against competitions matched to you

Common mistakes

Accepting adult help, which is penalised and which judges probe directly.
Skipping Instant Challenge practice, which is where many teams lose the most points.
Reading the challenge document loosely. Scoring is specific and points are lost on requirements teams simply missed.

How to register

Find your affiliate through the official site and register a team with a team manager.
Choose one of the season's challenges. Read the challenge document completely, since scoring is highly specific.
Track your materials spending against the challenge's limit as you go, not at the end.
Practise Instant Challenges weekly. They are a fixed share of the score and cannot be prepared for any other way.

What skills you need

Recommended resources

Destination Imagination (also: instant challenge practice materials) Official · free
Affiliate directory, current season challenges, rules and resources for team managers. The organisers publish practice Instant Challenges, which are the best weekly team exercise available.

Past problems and materials

Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.

Past challenges and results
Published by Destination Imagination.

Frequently asked questions

How does this differ from Odyssey of the Mind?

They are close cousins with the same core idea: a long-term team challenge plus an unseen instant problem, with adult help prohibited. Destination Imagination offers a broader challenge menu including a service learning option; Odyssey of the Mind has a longer history and a different problem style. Most schools run one or the other rather than both.

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Verification

Not yet re-checked 2026-08-30

The challenge categories, team size, Instant Challenge format, materials spending limits, no-interference rule and the regional to Global Finals structure follow the programme's published description. Registration fees, affiliate deadlines and the current season's challenges were not confirmed during the last check.

Not confirmed for this cycle: Who can enter, Registration deadline, Competition dates, Entry cost, Individual or team, Prizes, How to register. Check these on the official site.

Source: the organiser's own site. No individual fact on this page has been re-checked against it for the current cycle.

Cycle checked: 2026-27

Looked for and not found: deadline, prizes. These are shown as not confirmed rather than estimated.

Rules and dates change. Confirm everything on the official site before you rely on it.

At a glance

CategoryEngineering
Grades1 to 12
CostA Team Number for the 2026-27 season costs $165 at the Early Bird rate from 15 May to 14 July 2026, rising to $175 from 15 July. Affiliate fees may apply depending on location and are set by the local affiliate. Pricing outside the US is adjusted for local conditions and was to be posted on 15 July. Separately, teams that reach Global Finals pay a registration fee of $5,500 per US team or $5,000 per non-US team for 2026.
FormatTeam
LocationIn person
Difficulty2 of 5

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StructureDivisions by grade or level

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Key facts