Where else can you crash land on an alien planet, build a roller coaster, and turn old junk into a cool invention? Hosted by University of the Sciences during the week of August 8 to 12, the Camp Invention program will feature five exciting classes each day that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), woven into purposeful hands-on activities that harness the participants' innate creativity to solve real-world challenges.
The program geared for elementary children in the first to sixth grade will be directed by Elizabeth Endres, a Cherry Hill HS Science teacher who holds a MS in chemical education from the University of Pennsylvania.
America is currently facing a critical talent gap in the STEM subjects, which are recognized as the international language of innovation. Recent studies ranked only 38 percent of Pennsylvania students as proficient in science. The Camp Invention program tackles this problem head-on with a one-week, hands-on program designed to inspire a confidence and passion for science in young children. The program also focuses on developing vital 21st century life skills such as teamwork, creative problem-solving, risk-taking, working through failure, and critical thinking skills while the participants have lots of fun.
• In the Problem Solving on Planet ZAK® module, children will have to figure out how to survive for a week when their spaceship crash-lands on an alien planet.
• In other modules, children will use Newton's Laws of Motion to build roller coasters and other amusement park rides, clean up an oil spill and design an eco-friendly city, and learn how to add their own twist to familiar games to create something new.
• In the signature I Can Invent: Edison's Workshop™ unit, children will use real tools to take apart discarded household appliances and dream up fantasy inventions.
• Older children will use the pieces and parts to construct Rube Goldberg machines that take several steps to raise a flag.
For more information and to register for the camp, visit www.campinvention.org or call 800.968.4332.
