Camp Invention fosters problem-solving skills
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The University of Maine at Presque Isle will be bringing Camp Invention — the nation’s premier summer enrichment day camp program supported by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the United States Patent and Trademark Office — to campus the week of Aug. 3-7, 2015.
The weeklong day camp for students entering grades 1-6 fosters innovation and creativity while also building self-esteem, teamwork, persistence and goal-setting skills.
As part of this unique camp that encourages inventive young minds through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), participants will design and build their own inventions, take apart gadgets, get creative and messy, and have a whole lot of fun in the process.
This special program is being led by Camp Director Elaine Hendrickson, the 2001 Maine Teacher of the Year, and features local educators Carson Dobrin and Audra Kirk as instructors. Assisting the instructors and participants as leadership interns are Liam Daniels, Emily Sjoberg, Alyssa Sweeney and Sarah Morneault.
“I am so excited that Camp Invention is being offered to children in Aroostook County,” Hendrickson said. “The students will participate in four modules daily that will culminate in an Inventors’ Showcase, where the students will show off their prototype of an invention.
“Camp Invention is a wonderful opportunity for children to experience the thrill of becoming inventors by letting their imaginations run wild,” she said.
Activities on the agenda range from building and competing in a team freestyle-racing cart to prototyping an epic video game level to taking apart old machines and inventing new ones.
Camp Invention students experience winning, success and victory, along with an adrenaline rush that comes with competition and completion of challenging projects. Through real-world problem-solving challenges, they build things, take things apart, and explore different types of technology. Many times, the students are having so much fun, they don’t even realize they are learning and developing new skills.
Camp Invention at UMPI will take place Aug. 3-7 from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. each day. The cost is $230. More than 30 children are already signed up for the camp, but there are still a few seats left.
For more information contact Mary Lawrence at mary.l.lawrence@umpi.edu or 207-768-9502, or Hendrickson at elaine.hendrickson@gmail.com or 207-551-7706.
Camp Invention serves more than 87,000 students every year through more than 1,300 camps across the nation. For additional information, visit www.campinvention.org.
