Get Started

First, make sure you’re looking at the right region.  The Southside Region of Virginia contains the following cities and counties:

Amelia Co., Brunswick Co., Caroline Co., Charles City Co., Charlotte Co., Chesterfield Co., Colonial Heights, Dinwiddie Co., Emporia Co., Essex Co., Goochland Co., Greensville Co., Hanover Co., Henrico Co., Hopewell, King George Co., King William Co., Lunenburg Co., Mecklenburg Co., New Kent Co., Nottoway Co., Petersburg, Powhatan Co., Prince Edward Co., Prince George Co., Richmond, Richmond Co, Stafford Co., Surry Co., Sussex Co., West Point Co., and Westmoreland Co.

If your hometown isn’t listed above, find your region by looking at the DI Virginia website.

To get started with DI, you’ll need to start a team (anywhere from 2 to 7 students). Next, purchase a Team Pak from DI. You can do this online or using a paper form.  Sometimes, your PTA or school system will cover this cost–so be sure to ask! Once you purchase your Team Pak, you’ll receive the Program Materials. The Program Materials include all of this year’s challenges and other helpful resources for the DI season. The team should pick a challenge they want to solve and start brainstorming. Meet weekly or as often as you can. In no time, the team will be writing a script or building props or designing their structure or any number of creative tasks they need to complete in order to solve their challenge.