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Rollercoasters Highlight Camp Invention Program

Children will have the opportunity to design miniature amusement park rides, create safe vehicles, and brainstorm on Planet ZAK when the Camp Invention program arrives at Madison for the first time ever this summer.  The program is scheduled for July 23 through July 27 at Dakota State University in Madison, SD.   

The Camp Invention program, open to children entering first through sixth grades, fosters creativity, teamwork, inventive-thinking skills and science literacy.  The program was created in 1990 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, and receives support from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

DSU faculty member Dr. Jennifer Gross will direct a staff of local instructors and counselors. The program features a low staff-child ratio, with one staff member for every eight children.  “Parents will find that the Camp Invention program provides a magical mix of creative exercises to encourage brainstorming, teamwork and problem solving,” says Dr. Gross.  “Children who attend Camp Invention learn to think outside of the box. No matter how old they are, they continue to build age-appropriate inventive-thinking skills that we hope will lead them to be among the great critical thinkers of the future. ”

Children in 47 states across the country attended the Camp Invention program in 2006. “We provide the perfect solution for local communities,” explains Regional Coordinator Susan Clarke. “The Camp Invention program offers a highly acclaimed educational experience in a child’s own neighborhood. Local educators are given the flexibility to shape the program to fit the community.”

No other summer experience is quite the same. Last summer, a Camp Invention participant appeared on MSNBC’s “The Most” show with his new invention – a grocery cart bread shelf. In September, the Camp Invention program was cited in Child magazine for its inquiry-based lessons that lead children to work with their hands and their minds. In October, a Harvard study recognized the Camp Invention program as a success story among summer adventures, praising it for its innovative hands-on enrichment programs. “In the past year we’ve received multiple accolades for our unique, open-ended approach to education,” says Clarke.  “As we like to say, at Camp Invention we’re inventing a whole new way to learn.”

The $199 registration fee, was due on or before May 31, and includes daily snacks and a T-shirt.  Current registrations that are received require an additional $20 for late processing.  Each program is limited to 110 children. 

For more information, or to register your child for this program, visit www.campinvention.org or call 800.968.4332.