by admin, SummerCamps, 2019
A program of the National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF), Camp Invention is a nationally acclaimed summer program for children in grades K-6, where STEM concepts come to life. This program children the opportunity to become innovators through teamwork and immersive, hands-on creative problem-solving. Local educators facilitate program modules and enthusiastic high school and college students serve as Leadership Interns, ensuring that one staff member is in place for every eight children.
The 2019 program, Supercharged™, encourages campers to take on four exciting challenges, meet innovative superheroes, and bring home newfound confidence.
Innovation Force® – Children team up with the Innovation Force, a group of NIHF Inductees who have been transformed into superheroes, to battle the evil Plagiarizer, a supervillain who is out to steal the world’s ideas. As children create a device to retrieve the stolen ideas, they learn about the importance of collaboration and patents.
Deep Sea Mystery™ – Children embark on a research adventure at sea, but soon find themselves stranded on an island. Using lessons and advice from NIHF Inductees, children work in teams to invent island-survival tools and underwater equipment and navigate their way back home.
Farm Tech™ – Children manage their own farm as they learn the basics of running a business. Campers learn fundamental coding techniques to maximize their time and profits and perform mock DNA experiments to check the health of their cattle.
DIY Orbot™ – Children explore frequency, circuit boards, motors and gears as they reverse engineer a remote-controlled DIY Orbot. Throughout the week, campers will adapt their robot to perform increasingly challenging tasks from sports to art.
This national program has a business model that uses local resources, teachers and students, to lead their service: a children’s summer camp. Cheap and rudimentary materials like paint stirs, tape, etc. are combined with products that teach kids about coding and robots encourage kids to adopt a design-thinking mindset.