Last week David attended Camp Invention. I decided to register him way back in the day (just after the science fair) when I was having a moment of "I'm going to support my children's chosen interests." David likes science. Also, it was going to be held at our local elementary school. Which is probably the real reason I signed him up. Convenience. (Laziness would be a less nice way of saying it.) Anyway, he should be thankful his elementary school wasn't hosting a princess and vegetable camp this summer. Lucky for him, it was science camp. And David loves science!
This was a great camp! Super well-organized with talented, enthusiastic professional teachers doing the teaching. The kids were divided into groups by grade--David was in the youngest group--and two high school age counselors were assigned to them. They spent the day rotating through the different modules. In one module, they learned about different animals, in another they built a clubhouse for decoding secret messages, in another they worked on making bouncy balls, and so on. It was an all day camp for a full week. And it was intense. But fun and rewarding. David came home each day exhausted--but buzzing with excitement! He loved it.
On the last day, friends and families were invited to watch a slide show and view the different inventions and projects. (Aunt Marie was able to join us too--a special treat for David. He felt extra proud.) All of the campers gathered together. I spotted my adorable little scientist in the group...
After the slideshow presentation, we first checked out the Green Group's clubhouse. It was awesome! Really, I think it was the best of all the clubhouses. The first graders really got into this project.
Notice the place for shoes. They had a strict no-shoe rule. So cute.
David took Mary for a tour of the inside.
David and Mary posing for Aunt Marie's camera--
A big part of the week is the take-apart project. David took apart an old VCR. (It was funny when we were trying to explain to him what a VCR is!) They get to use real tools to disassemble their object. It's a big project--especially for the little ones and their less-dexterous fingers. Then they can use the pieces, as well as other recyclable items, to make new inventions.
David used the outside of the VCR as well as some other objects to create some kind of dish-washing/water-filtration system.
But he was really proud of the inside of that VCR.
David also made a bouncy ball (pretty amazing) and a mansion for fire beetles and a bunch of other stuff. Whew! It was quite a week. But I think it was worth the energy. Overall it was a really positive, productive experience.
I think our little inventor will be back next year.
