Camp Invention

Do you have budding inventors in your family?

Check out Camp Invention - a week-long summer day-camp for rising first through sixth graders created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and sponsored by the US Patent Office.

My children enjoyed the program last year and want to return this year. Be warned that you may need to protect your household goods to keep them from being turned into creations....

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Some of the Gwinnett County camp locations for summer 2009:

Buford - Ivy Creek Elementary School
Dacula - Dacula Elementary School
Duluth - Berkeley Lake, Wilson Creek, and Mason Elementary Schools
Lawrenceville - Craig, Lovin, and KE Taylor Elementary Schools
Lilburn - Knight Elementary School
Norcross - Norcross Elementary School
Snellville - Shiloh, Henry Partee, and Pharr Elementary Schools

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Different schools use different programs each year. It appears that for this year, all the Gwinnett county schools are using the same program:


The DISCOVER Program

Viking Treasure Trek: The Quest Begins™

Children spend the week treasure hunting as they follow the footsteps of ancient travelers in the Viking Treasure Trek: The Quest Begins module. Children hear a mythical story of how the travelers, known for their outstanding seamanship, mysteriously hid vast amounts of gold, and it’s up to them to find the buried bounty! With the aid of compasses, children work together in teams to decipher clues that will help put the gold within their grasp. Children must build sturdy boats that are able to survive the fury of the Atlantic Ocean to successfully navigate their way through the Norweigan Islands toward the buried treasure! Will the lost gold be uncovered?

Comic Book Science: FlyJack and Jill™

In the Comic Book Science: FlyJack and Jill module, children discover that a major comic book publisher’s sales are slumping, and it’s up to them to save the company by developing a new superhero comic book series that features superheroes with science-based super powers! Throughout the week, children perform experiments that explore scientific superhero powers such as the five senses, the ability to change or “morph,” flight, speed, strength, and reaction time. Children then incorporate their findings into their own comic books by giving their superheroes similiar scientific super powers! It’s an allout superhero extravaganza when children bring their power-packed characters to life and craft them into real models!

Land Sled X-Treme™

The Land Sled X-Treme module is an exciting fusion of racing and engineering. Children work in teams to complete daily challenges such as designing shields to keep from getting wet in the H2O Throw game. By winning challenges, children earn points to use to buy materials such as duct tape, boxes, and skateboards that they transform into one-of-a-kind land sleds! At the end of the week, teams participate in the highly anticipated X-treme obstacle course to discover whose land sleds can cross the finish line victoriously. They swerve around cones and dodge water balloons to win the title of X-treme Land Sled Racer.

I Can Invent: Fantasy Inventions & Complicated Machines II™

The I Can Invent: Fantasy Inventions & Complicated Machines II module illustrates the joys (and frustrations) that real inventors face during the process of creating totally new inventions. Creative problem solving is fostered as children imagine and assemble the unthinkable! Younger children create fantasy inventions using pieces and parts of broken appliances and other recyclable materials. They further explore the process of invention as they market their inventions and apply for (and even receive) mock patents. Older children work in teams to build complicated, multi-step machines that solve a challenge. A participant favorite, children of all ages find this module incredibly challenging and exciting!

Recess Remix™

Twist it, turn it, shake it, and reverse it! This summer, children mix up and fast forward traditional playground games to concoct unique recreational experiences that will have them rolling on the floor laughing! In the Recess Remix module, children are challenged to use nontraditional equipment (such as water balloons) to play classic games. Each day features fresh ideas that will have children mentally and physically engaged and completely entertained. The laughter is contagious as children use fun ways to enhance their level of cooperation and coordination in these innovative, team-building exercises. Children's minds are put to the test as they combine physical activity and creativity to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary!

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Check out Invent.org for more information on inventors, inventions, and the inventing process.