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UPDATE APRIL 2026:

TWO OAKWOOD TEAMS HEADED TO GLOBAL FINALS IN KANSAS CITY!

On Saturday, March 28, seven Oakwood Destination Imagination teams, comprised of 34 students from Harman, Smith, OJH, and OHS, participated in the state tournament at Lakota East High School. They competed against more than 100 other qualifying teams from across the state. Destination Imagination is a STEAM-based creative problem-solving competition. It requires students to push limits, work together, and forge new paths.

Each team worked together for months to develop a solution to their central challenge, with five finishing in the top five in the state within their divisions. "I've learned that we can do amazing things when we work together," said Alex Deibel, a fifth grade participant.

The Harman School team of Margaret Ahkbari, Mary Frances Conrad, Charlotte Highland, Reese Josten-Knopp, Meenakshi Muthappan, and Norah Riedel finished third in the Fine Arts challenge. The team presented a hero/villain origin story in which a favorite shirt ruined in the wash incites one sibling to seek to destroy all washing machines, and her sister to embrace washing and the power of cleaning. The team choreographed an original dance, and performed gymnastics moves woven into a fight scene between clean and evil.

The Harman School team of Alex, Florence, Graham, Isaac, and Oliver were named State Champions for the second year in a row, this year in the Fine Arts category. They told an origin story about a supervillain fueled by negativity and unkind words, and a superhero powered by imagination and creativity. While the challenge called for a single technical costume, this team went far beyond expectations-featuring an eight-foot-tall animatronic villain and a massive four-armed, light-up hero suit. Their technical costume was equally impressive, using hydraulics to elevate a glowing lightbulb from a hero's helmet to represent the spark of a great idea. They also created a life-sized, ten-page comic book and brought to life not one, but five fully developed heroes-The Author, The Beauty, The Brainiac, The Comic, and The Critical Tech Man. The team was honored to receive a special DaVinci Award for their unique approach, for risk taking, and for outstanding creativity.

These teams are headed to Global Finals, where the best teams from 48 states and 30 countries come together to compete. Students who attend Global Finals see solutions from hundreds of other teams, expanding their creative horizons, and thereby enhancing creativity in our schools and community. In addition to developing these skills, students are exposed to other cultures as they observe and interact with students from around the world.

The Oakwood DI Boosters, a 501(c)(3) organization, has been established to assist the students with raising the per-team registration fees, enabling them to experience competition at the global level. These hard-working students are asking for support from the Oakwood community to attend the global competition. To help create the problem solvers of tomorrow, please consider making a tax-deductible donation at givebutter.com/Oakwood-DI; text IDEAS to 53555; Venmo @oakwooddiboosters; or mail a check payable to Oakwood DI Boosters, 188 Lookout Drive, Oakwood, OH 45419.

October 2025:

The 2025-26 Destination Imagination season is just getting underway!!! Oakwood has 15 DI teams this year, consisting of over 100 students in grades K-12. Right now, these teams are busy developing their solutions to their chosen Team Challenge problems. They are researching, storyboarding, writing scripts, designing technical elements, planning costumes, building backgrounds and props, and practicing for the Instant Challenge they will first encounter on tournament day.

The Regional Tournament will be held on March 7, 2026, at Sinclair Community College. The Ohio Afiliate (State) Tournament will be held on March 28, 2026, at Lakota East High School. Teams placing in the top three in their challenge category at the Ohio Afiliate Tournament will advance to DI Global Finals in Kansas City, MO, May 21-24, 2026.

At DI Global Finals, the top teams from 48 states and 30 countries come together to compete, take part in STEAM-based learning opportunities, and celebrate creativity! Students who attend Global Finals see solutions from hundreds of other teams, expanding their creative horizons, and thereby enhancing creativity in our schools and community. In addition to developing these skills, students are exposed to other cultures as they observe and interact with students from around the world.

The Oakwood community has been so generous in the past to help send our hard-working Oakwood teams to DI Global Finals, and we ask again for your support. Please consider donating to help create the problem solvers of tomorrow!

Send Oakwood Teams to DI Global Finals 2026!

Thank you for your support!