Kids Create at Camp Invention

It's summertime and it's time for camp. Camp Invention at commenced Monday.

A week-long program, which teaches science, technology, engineering and math, it is also an initiative from Invent Now, a group of inventors who want to boost America’s abilities in math and science.

Ginny Barnicoat, who has been teaching science for 20 years, serves as the camp’s director.

“We have five full-time teachers, six high school counselors, six junior counselors and two assistant directors,” she said. 

Camp Invention has five classes running concurrently, and five groups of students broken into groups divided by color—blue, red, yellow, orange and green.

The five classes are: “I Can Invent: Edison’s Workshop, ” taught by Cyndy Carroll; “Wild: Wondrous Innovations and Living Designs,” taught by Susan Kochin; “Bounce! An Atomic Journey,” taught by Jessica Niedermeyer; “The Curious Cypher Club,” taught by Jennifer Marnick; and “Game On: Power Play,” taught by Julia Engelhardt.  

Barnicoat is very enthusiastic about Camp Invention.

“This is the way science should be taught because they are constructing their own learning,” she said. “The kids are given a challenge, a little bit of background in science and they find the materials to develop a solution.”

In “I Can Invent,” children bring a broken appliance from home and get to open it up and see inside.

“We call it reverse engineering,” course instructor Carroll said. “The kids get to look inside and see how something works.”

In “Bounce,” Niedermeyer, under the moniker Miss Polly, children bounce their way through atoms, molecules, mixtures and compounds to discover the science behind bouncy balls.

In “Wild,” Kochin teaches about the most innovative survival traits of plants and animals.

In “The Curious Cypher Club,” Marnick teaches her students about computer codes.

In “Game On,” Englehardt and her charges invent new games.

“The kids are allowed to make a mess," Barnicoat said. "They are allowed to fail. They are allowed to redesign. There is no time for that in traditional schools.

“I like this more because this is a free environment. It’s a child-driven curriculum.”

Camp Invention Assistant Director Mrs. McGovern started participating when her children were young. Her son, John, along with Tom Phillips, was one of the first junior counselors at Camp Invention.

“My son was no longer able to participate after sixth grade and he and Tom became the first junior counselors, just so they could remain involved," McGovern (affectionately known as Mrs. McG) said.

McGovern’s daughter, Katie, is a current junior counselor. Katie cited "Wild" as her favorite class, where she learned about animals' camouflaging abilities including frogs, lizards, and fish.

Camp Invention runs this week through Friday.