The Bear and Mouse are now knee deep into their first ever week of Camp Invention summer day camp, and I popped in this morning to see my giddy girls building, deconstructing, and being active. But it wasn’t just my pair, every single kid I saw was smiling, energized, and excited about what they’d already done and what lies ahead during the remainder of the week of STEM camp.
When I picked up my two kids from camp after day one, they talked non-stop (often talking over each other, when they weren’t finishing each others sentences) for 45 minutes. Nary a period was heard. Maybe a few commas. Maybe. They had so much fun in just 6.5 hours of the first day and were stoked about what was happening today (Crazy Hat day), tomorrow (outdoor water play), and the Inventor’s showcase for parents on the final day. There’s nothing else you can hope for when you spend a couple of hundreds dollars on a camp experience for kids.
The little ones at Camp Invention. might not be hip to it yet, but on Thursday afternoon, the inventor of the Steadicam (and Skycam, Flycam, and more) will be at camp to speak with kids, build alongside them, and inspire the next generation of progressive minds. I personally am interested in Garrett Brown’s story because of his late-in-life career change narrative. He had many jobs and professions before becoming a patented and Hall of Fame inventor, which, in the end, might be the most important lesson a child can learn: that life isn’t linear and that you are never, ever stuck if you have determination, creativity and drive to be something else.
BREAKING NEWS: The Collegiate Inventors Competition Winner Elizabeth Beattie, who is currently attending the University of Pennsylvania, will also be appearing at our Camp Invention location on Thursday, giving the kids (and especially young girls!) a youthful example of what an inventor looks like in the real world today.
Believe it or not, it is NOT too late to find a Camp Invention location near you and get your bright young kiddo in for some building and inventing fun this summer!
Here are scenes from Camp Invention 2014:
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