The EXPLORE Program
Wild Blue Y’Under™
In the Wild Blue Y’Under module, children have the chance to awaken their spirits of adventure and exploration! Children fly high, dive deep, and travel the globe, exploring physics concepts such as buoyancy, lift, density, friction, propulsion, and water pressure to complete a secret mission. By the end of the week, children must deliver top-secret documents to the National Inventors Hall of Fame and keep these important papers safe from spies who want to swipe them! From Egypt to Akron, Ohio, children must build boats, hovercrafts, gliders, road vehicles, and futuristic methods of travel that will safely carry these documents to the waiting workers in Akron!
Tape Me to Your Leader™
Could there be other inventors in our galaxy? In the Tape Me to Your Leader module, that's a mystery children explore in this creative problem-solving adventure. Curiosities are piqued when radio signals reach Camp Invention headquarters, and children tune in to make contact with the aliens. To do so, they construct a three-dimensional command structure with tape and recycled cardboard, learning about structural principles in the process. From the center itself, to a radio telescope and tower, to space suits to wear while meeting with the aliens, children are kept busy preparing for their alien encounter!
Solve It: The Missing Inventor's Log™
In the Solve It: The Missing Inventor’s Log module, Dr. June Clever’s Inventor’s Log is missing, and it is up to the children of the Camp Invention program to discover who has taken it! Children spend the week acing as crime scene investigators, conducting experiments and using forensic science and deductive reasoning to find the guilty culprit. Children begin the week by creating character sketches of possible suspects and building model rooms that depict Dr. Clever’s house. Children then scientifically assess the crime scene as they collect and examine evidence such as fingerprints, footprints, teeth impressions, and ink to pinpoint a suspect!
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!