Connect, create and collaborate from anywhere
For more than 30 years, kids across the country have found excitement and inspiration at Camp Invention®. Now, we’ve made our summer camp more accessible than ever before with Camp Invention Connect™.
Our action-packed, at-home camps run nearly every week of the summer, so kids can team up, make friends and take on creative, hands-on STEM challenges, no matter where they are.
By providing all the materials and guidance kids need to dive into open-ended activities, we help them build the mindset they need to thrive, all while having the kind of fun they’ll never forget.
Encourage Any Learning Style
By giving kids the freedom to explore and experiment at their own pace and in a familiar environment, our program offers a fun and empowering experience for everyone.
Build Confidence
We believe every child can invent — and we make sure our campers believe it, too. Kids gain confidence and persistence as they bring their biggest ideas to life.
Promote Problem Solving
Our world needs more creative problem solvers. So our research-backed program is designed to help kids find their own solutions for any challenge.
Support Limitless Collaboration
Designed to transcend any boundary, Camp Invention Connect invites kids of all communities and abilities to work together online and learn that everyone has something important to contribute.
Choose your 2021 Camp Invention Connect dates
A schedule to join optional kickoff and collaboration sessions with fellow campers will be provided by your Camp Invention Connect Coach the week before your start date.
Here’s what an action-packed day looks like with Camp Invention Connect
Get Excited for Your Program
Everything your camper needs will be sent straight to your home ahead of your program start date, so they’ll be set for a week of hands-on fun and exploration!
When your package arrives, your camper can set up their Innovator Workshop — complete with Pegboard, Toolbelt and Maker Mat — and grab each Inventor Log to find the online experience passwords on Page 2.
Camp Kickoff
Throughout the week of camp, kids join their Coach and fellow campers to start each day with a live online session that includes icebreakers, module instruction and opportunities to collaborate. If your camper can’t join live, don’t worry — you will have access to videos that go through each activity step by step.
Create and Invent
Following a quick break, kids get back together online to make, create and invent with their Coach and fellow campers.
Afternoon Hangout
After taking a break for lunch, kids join their Coach and fellow campers to socialize, build friendships and gear up for the rest of the day’s hands-on fun.
Unplug and Get Outdoors
Hands-on STEM exploration continues as kids enjoy screen-free time and get outdoors with high-energy activities.
Collaborate and Share
Each afternoon, campers regroup with their Coach online to complete their final challenge and proudly share their projects and inventions.
Check out what families are saying about Camp Invention Connect
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“This was different from our online school because we got to talk to other kids and I didn’t have to just figure things out on my own. It was nice to be led by someone who helped me understand it. There were so many activities and they were really fun.”
LydiaAge 7
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“The experience between our school situation and Camp Invention Connect was night and day. This was especially true for my son, who struggles with traditional learning models. They had an absolute blast with each activity and loved sharing their ideas.”
RachelParent
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“We did a lot of building and I thought that was cool. I liked designing the LINK robot with all the cool stickers. I also really liked taking the LINK robot apart because I got to see all of the parts inside. It makes me feel more confident in building.”
ReedAge 9
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“My child is wanting to invent something and get a patent… My child has ADHD and this program kept his focus and interest. He was so proud of what he completed on each project and shows it off to everyone. I just want to say Thank You for this experience.”
Tami H.Parent
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“My favorite part was sharing my invention idea with everyone. Actually, no, it was making the invention. It was both! Dancing to the music on the computer was so much fun. Camp Invention is the most fun I’ve ever had!”
AmelieAge 6
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“It gave him more confidence, let him try new things and learn new things, helped him learn how to use technology in different ways to help him interact with people, gave him more of a love of STEM activities and helped him be more creative…”
Jennifer B.Parent
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“Our Camp Invention Connect experience was amazing. The virtual sessions really set us up for success. It was just the right amount of instruction and resource sharing and then gave the kids the opportunity to build and design for the day.”
PeteParent
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“Our son was very shy when it first started, and it was so much fun to watch him blossom with his confidence with others and his abilities and creativity.”
JillParent
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“Gavin had a wonderful time. I was skeptical as he’s not a fan of virtual learning but this was a completely different experience. I am super impressed with how you were able to keep everyone engaged. He was so happy all week. Thank you soooo much! ”
SaraParent
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“My son was able to build a “prototype” of an invention he’s always dreamed up of in his head. He loved creating things and it gave him something to look forward to in this stressful time.”
Allison L.Parent
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“On the last day of camp, he went outside and created a water cannon out of a large cardboard tube, a large Chewy box, hose and a Coke can (he shot the Coke can out of the tube with the hose).”
AngieParent
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“As a parent, it was wonderful to see the innovative mindset that the experience has cultivated in my children. They were proud of their creations and were excited to share what they made with us and the other children.”
JenniferParent
With a set of four themed kits providing tons of materials, our ALL-NEW 2021 program, Recharge, offers hours of hands-on fun! Each kit brings a unique set of challenges inspired by world-changing inventors, and certified educator Coaches help kids make real connections through instruction, teamwork and outdoor play. It all adds up to a one-of-a-kind experience that’s sure to get kids thinking, moving and creating!
As campers take apart and rebuild their very own wireless microphone, they amplify their big ideas to become creative entrepreneurs. They discover sound waves in action, hear from great inventors and make a powerful pitch to promote their own amazing invention.
In this fun physics adventure, kids create and test a device to launch rubber ducks across the world. After earning “quack coins” to buy materials to build their devices, they send their ducks to visit famous landmarks, testing fascinating concepts like trajectory and velocity.
Kids make and adopt their own solar-powered, robotic crickets, and they jump into experimenting with circuits and energy. Using empathy to consider the lives of real insects, they create custom habitats — including a fun-filled cricket playground — for their awesome bots.
Campers learn how to adapt as they design morphing vehicles to race across land and add prototype elements for moving through air and water. With inspiration from cool creatures including a “plantimal,” they modify their vehicles to submerge, soar or sprint in a Super Road Rally.
Ready to Register?
The following sponsors help make Camp Invention Connect possible:
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Nordson
Army Education Outreach Program (AEOP)
Abbvie Foundation
Burton D. Morgan Foundation
United Way of Summit County
Motorola Solutions Foundation
Duck Tape
Marathon
Community Foundation Lorain County
National Inventors Hall of Fame Endowment Children's Education Fund
The Fossum Family Endowment
The Amos E. Joel Young Inventors Endowment
The Al and Helen Free Foundation
