Thomas Johnson Middle School “GEM2” Advances to Destination Imagination's Global Finals, the Lar

After achieving honors for creativity, teamwork and innovation in regional and state academic tournaments, Thomas Johnson Middle School “GEM2” has earned the right to compete in Destination Imagination's Global Finals, the world’s largest celebration of student creativity, to be held May 25-28 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Team members include Ernest N, Makuochuckwu A, Louis N, Yuling L, Javon J, Justice F, and McRoy N.

They will compete with other teams in the Meme Event, one of seven, open-ended challenges that require students to apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, in addition to their talents in improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management, communication, innovation, teamwork, community service and social entrepreneurship.

The team took their message of reducing storm drain pollution to the community through a partnership with the Prince George's County Department of the Environment. Thomas Johnson Middle School “GEM2” is among more than 8,000 students representing more than 1,400 teams that will advance to Global Finals, which will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville May 25-28. Four teams from Prince George's County advanced to the Global Finals.

Each year, DI competitions begin with a regional tournament, where team solutions are assessed by a panel of trained appraisers, ranging from educators to artists to engineers. Each team solution is scored on a variety of elements, including originality, workmanship, presentation and teamwork. Teams with the highest scores advance to the Affiliate (state or country) tournaments. The top-tiered teams from the Affiliate tournaments advance to Global Finals.

Destination Imagination, Inc. dedicates itself to enriching the global community by providing opportunities for learners of all ages to explore and discover using the creative process from imagination to innovation.

For more information about Global Finals, visit http://globalfinals.org/.

About Destination Imagination

Destination Imagination, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) volunteer-led non-profit organization whose purpose is to inspire and equip students to become the next generation of innovators and leaders. The most popular education offering is the Challenge Program, where student teams solve open-ended STEM, arts and service learning Challenges and present their solutions to trained Appraisers. Founded in 1982, Destination Imagination has impacted more than 1.5 million students. To learn more, please visit http://destinationimagination.org.