Nothing is beyond students’ grasp at the annual Camp Invention summer enrichment camp.
How else could you explain that in a week’s time, Columbus students from kindergarten through sixth grade are able to design a small self-driving robot, plan their own futuristic smart home and set up a veterinary clinic for robotic puppies.
Camp Invention returned to St. Bartholomew Catholic School this week for the fourth straight summer to promote interest in STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and math. It ends today.
Enrollment — open to students from any school — reached its 120-camper capacity, the highest ever turnout for the Columbus camp, said Shannon Royer, a St. Bartholomew third grade science teacher who was in charge of leading the camp.
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“There’s no limit to imagination” at Camp Invention, St. Peter’s fifth grader Emma Christie said.
While held at a school, campers don’t think of the week-long camp activities as school, Royer said.
Cost is $225 per student, although discounts are available for early registration and when parents volunteer to help. Scholarships are also available, Royer said.
“We have so many repeat campers. I think that they love the fact that it’s fun,” said Royer, who has been involved in the local camp all four years. “And there are a lot of kids that are very into science, and this gives them an opportunity.”
One of the returning campers is St. Bartholomew fifth grader Marilu Benavente.
Choosing a fur pattern for her robotic dog, Ro Bo, was just one example of the kind of activities that make her want to revisit Camp Invention each year, Marilu said.
“They let us be creative, and I really like that,” Marilu said.
Campers rotate through five different classrooms throughout each day, with every room featuring a new activity and instructor.
Instructors provided basic guidelines for campers, but Royer said the staff gives students as much freedom as possible.
“They’re using their minds and being creative. They get to think outside of the box,” Royer said.
Or, quite literally, in the box.
Josh Van Valkenburg, a fourth grader from St. Peter’s Lutheran School, attached a small propeller to the top of a shoe box during a gear practice activity. He then wore the box proudly on his head, propeller spinning.
The boy said he got his inspiration from video game star Super Mario.
Another student, Parkside Elementary fourth grader Chandon Munnaluri, used his imagination to come up with a makeshift jetpack using a Styrofoam cube and pipe cleaners for straps.
Thanks to a balloon inside the spout of a water bottle connected to the Styrofoam, his jetpack could fly, Munnaluri pointed out, albeit briefly.
Enthusiasm of creative campers is what keeps volunteer Joe Steele, an English teacher at CSA New Tech High School, coming back to Camp Invention.
“There’s a wonderful curriculum and you see the kids’ spark each day,” Steele said. “A lot of the kids have come up with ideas I never would have thought of.”
Even if those ideas don’t make sense to instructors, Royer said campers are never discouraged from exploring the possibilities.
“The sky’s the limit,” she said.
All materials needed for the projects are provided by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which sponsors Camp Invention. But campers are also allowed to bring in household items to use in their creative odysseys — some of which are rescued from the trash at home.
“They realize that everything is reusable,” Steele said.
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120: Number of campers
5: Number of instructors
10: High school volunteers
7: Middle school volunteers
2: Parent volunteers
$225: Full-price cost for camp
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