Camp Invention Sparks Creativity

At West Orange's Camp Invention, 100 West Orange elementary students are learning how to make inventions of their own. 

Last Thursday and Friday, the students were building their own Rube Goldberg machines — complicated machines that perform the simplest tasks. 

Theresa Galati, a teacher at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School worked with first grade students to create a machine that can shoot a ball into a cup, during the week long camp held at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School. She led the Edison workshop that was one of five modules of the week long camp that ended last Friday. 

The camp, under the tutelage of Camp Director Ali Fazzio, Mt. Pleasant 4th grade teacher, and Assistant Director Wendy Japaz, Mt. Pleasant 5th grade teacher, just completed its inaugural year in West Orange. 

Running the camp was initially brought to the attention of Fazzio by a former student’s parent who experienced the camp in Livingston. Fazzio then met with franchise delegates in March of 2011. From there, it was a snowball effect that officially brought the camp to West Orange. 

Holding meetings at Mt. Pleasant and sending out flyers in the other elementary schools as well as other settings, the team hoped to draw attention to the camp. 

"We sold out by May," said Fazzio, who was ecstatic with the enrollment. She said the camp’s design of "creative out of the box thinking," was the initial draw. 

Japaz agreed and said, "The idea is how inventions start. If you can think it, you can make it." 

The camp is designed around the STEM model – science, technology, engineering and math. The camp’s parent company, Invent Now, is in part made up of a network of inventors, many of which are in the Inventors Hall of Fame. 

In addition, Fazzio said, "all modules go through two years of bata testing before being introduced to the camp." 

Once approved, Fazzio and Japaz recruited five West Orange teachers: three from Mt. Pleasant and two from Hazel, to teach the camp’s five modules. 

Galati taught Edison’s Workshop, where students invent their own apparatus; Nancy Pisciotta taught, WILD: Wondrous Innovations and Living Designs, where students learn to build their own creations from constructs indigenous in nature; Lori Degenshein taught Bounce, where students learn about atomic energy; Barbara Popple taught Curious Cyhper Club, where students unravel clues to solve a week long mystery and Christina Balestriere taught Game On, where students create and restructure games.

The 100 campers, aged 6-11, were divided among five age groups with 20 per group. Instructors led each group assisted by counselors. 

Kerry Burdek, worked for the camp as camp mom and her two sons attended as well. Asked to be a part of the camp by Fazzio for whom she was a class parent, Burdek felt the camp gave her sons "the opportunity to learn some things out of the ordinary in a setting that was made to be fun and productive without the pressure of tests. They learned that inventing is about taking many ideas and using trial and error." 

Next year Fazzio and Japaz hope to bring the camp back for two weeks. The superintendent will have the ultimate decision but corporate sponsorship will also make a difference, said Fazzio. She noted that "local sponsorship is key in broadening the program for the community." 

Funds raised can then be used for scholarships and camp enrichment. As to the overall experience, Cole Burdek, Mt. Pleasant soon to be 2nd grader said "It was fun working as a team with my friends. We invented something that really worked!" 

For more about Camp Invention visit the company’s site here www.campinvention.org