Destination: Knoxville, Tenn. — Imagine that!

STRAFFORD — Seven Strafford students and their coach have experienced a full range of emotions since they learned of their second-place finish at the recent state Destination Imagination competition.

The news has them feeling euphoric because they will compete at the international level starting May 25 in Knoxville, Tenn.

“We, at least the guys, tackled each other,” fifth-grader Jake Ray said when they heard the news. He added their mascot — an oversized Paddington bear dressed in a Destination Imagination T-shirt — also did a stage dive.

Destination Imagination is an international program designed to test the creativity and problem-solving skills of student teams from the elementary to high school level.

Before they earned second place at states in Nashua, the Strafford group also won first place at the regional competitions in Tilton. Members include coach Pat Lucas, fifth-graders Conor Corless, Alex Archambault, Anna Goodell, Griffin Kelley and Ray, and sixth-graders Katrina Oswald and Renee Patrizi.

Lucas is thrilled the students will be able to represent the state of New Hampshire at the world competition.

“I feel very confident that they will present themselves well,” Lucas said. “I’ve liked seeing their creativity evolve and watching them grow. They are a very good team and fun to be with.”

The students chose a project called “Dizzy Derby” where they were required to build a vehicle that was not man-powered and create a story line that incorporated the apparatus. After months of planning, they created a mobile hive and a story based on “The Three Little Bees and the Big Bad Ladybug.” During competition, the group had to maneuver the vehicle through an obstacle course while one member narrated the story.

“Everyone in the country has the same parameters for the vehicle, but everyone puts their own flare on it,” Lucas said.

The students used recycled materials because they only were given an allowance of $150 to complete the project.

“We found an old go-cart at the dump,” fifth-grader Alex Archambault said.

The team needs to fine-tune its project and narration before they go to worlds at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, but they said they’ll be ready. They admitted they are somewhat daunted by the 20 countries and the 10,000 people who will be there, though.

Fun activities such as costume parties will help them take their mind off that anxiety somewhat. And the students are also obviously excited to miss three days of school, though they’ll have lots of homework.

“Oh, ya!” they shouted in unison during an interview Wednesday afternoon at the school.

The team has just begun to fund-raise for the $15,000 needed to provide for lodging and transportation to Knoxville. But they view the task as just another challenge to face.

No matter how they do at worlds, the students said they’ve learned a lot from their DI experience. Goodell said she enjoyed meeting new people, and Patrizi noted the camaraderie of the team was very important to them all. Oswald added she liked thinking outside the box.

“I like it because you go through a lot of trial and error and use your imagination,” Griffin said.

“I just like that we are always together and have free time to play around and see what happens,” Corless added.

Finding that time to get their project just right also has been a challenge they have relished, Lucas said.

“It’s more difficult nowadays with so many other activities going on at school,” she said. “This is a lot of commitment for the kids, but they’ve really worked well as a team.”

Those interested in helping the DI team can make a check to the Strafford School or contribute to the collection buckets located at the Blue Loon and Isinglass stores.

For more information, contact the school at 664-2842.